Partners in Time
by Angel-Hunteress
Summary: EPILOGUE UP! Rose Tyler and John Smith. Two ordinary humans, each with a life of their own. But when they meet, both of their seemingly ordinary lives shatter, becoming more. They only had each other. 10Rose.
1. Serendipity

**Partners In Time** – by Angel Hunteress

A/N: Well, this is actually inspired from a dream I had about a week or so ago. After I kept thinking of that dream, I started toying with ideas, and this one just sort of jumped at me. I hope you like it. Yes, I know there are a lot of differences between DW and this story, like the people. But there's a reason behind it all. I can't tell you for sure much anything without giving away the ending, so just read it and ask questions. If I am able to—like if it's not going to spoil the ending—I'll try to explain it or whatnot. Okay?

Here goes. Hope you like it!

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**Chapter 1: Serendipity**

Rose Tyler woke up with a jolt. Her eyelids snapped open, her breathing heavy. She didn't remember much of the dream as it faded away. She just remembered running from something. The typical clichéd dream.

The phone rang for the third time, the first ring waking her from the dream. She reached over, tentatively pulling the cordless phone from the charger, the feelings of fear and paranoia still lingering from her dream.

"Hello?" she answered, her voice calm, though low and husky from the morning.

"Hey, Rose," greeted a familiar girl's voice, bright and cheery. _Damn morning people. _Rose cursed Shireen. "Did I wake you? It's a bit late, even for you."

Rose cleared her throat, trying to get as much grogginess out of her voice as she could. "I-uh, no. I've been up," she lied. She looked at the digital alarm clock on her night stand which rested next to the phone charger. 11:30. It was late, even for her. "What is it this time, Shireen?"

She could practically hear the twenty-year-old's devious grin as she talked. "Well," Shireen started. "I just wanted to come over. You know, maybe tidy up a bit, take you out shopping."

"Shireen," Rose groaned. "I'm _fine._ Honestly."

"Rose," Shireen started, slightly patronizing. "Come on! You just ended a three year relationship. Normal people would be going after the tubs of ice cream and getting fat!"

Rose smiled, looking over at the picture of her, Shireen, and Mickey, her ex-boyfriend, the photo resting on the nightstand. She had just broken it off with him three weeks ago. He was getting too distant, and there was no communication.

"What do you mean, I broke up with him." Rose sighed. "All right, you can come over."

"All right, Rose. I'll be over at your flat soon." They said their goodbyes and hung up.

Rose sat up, pulling the pink comforters off her, running a hand through her long blond hair.

She really _was_ fine; it was Mickey she was worried about. She hadn't heard from him in a long time. She knew she'd have to wait for him to come around; they'd been best friends since birth, practically.

A knock on the front door.

Rose got out of bed, stepping into her pink and purple fuzzy slippers before exiting her bedroom, through the living room and to the front door. Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, she opened it to see a beautiful dark-skinned girl with short black hair.

"Hello, Rose," Shireen hugged her. She pulled back, looking at her blond friend. "Oh, look at you, still in your jim-jams. I really _did_ wake you up, didn't I?"

Rose slightly frowned. "Shireen, you were on your way already? Why didn't you tell me? What if I told you I was busy?"

"Oh, Rose, it's summer! I knew you wouldn't be busy. _You're_ too lazy." Shireen grinned at Rose, her brown eyes sparkling.

"Rose!" boomed a male voice from upstairs. "Did you get that?"

A male figure headed down the stairs. Tall, lean, with tan-coloured hair and brown eyes. He was in his late forties, his hairline receding and his sideburns just starting to turn grey.

"Yeah, Dad," Rose replied to the man. "It's just Shireen."

"Hi, Mr. Tyler," Shireen greeted. "I was just teasing Rose about waking up at this hour." At this, Shireen received a death glare from Rose, but the brunette just smiled it off.

"Oh, that's probably cause she stayed up so late watching those scary movies," Jake Tyler teased. "Don't know why she likes them so much. Those things give me nightmares to no end." He paused, looking at Shireen. "So, Shireen, what've you been up to, then?"

"Well," Shireen replied. "Mostly we've been getting ready for me moving into uni, but besides that, not much else."

"Well," Jake replied. "It's pretty much the same for us, having to pack and buy new things. But a good education that's affordable is hard to come by these days."

He paused, looking around the room. "Well," he turned back to Rose. "I best be going. I'll see you later, Rose. Be back in a few hours."

He kissed Rose on the forehead, turning and grabbing his keys and coat , going out the door.

"Where's he going?" asked Shireen.

"Work," Rose replied.

"But I thought you said he was on vacation!" Shireen asked, surprised.

"He is. But I know he's got a second job."

"Really?" Shireen asked. "Doing what?"

"Dunno," Rose replied. "He's been coming home from school, and then an hour later he leaves. I know he's doing this to put me through college. Ever since he lost his job at the university, money's been tight."

"Oh, Rose," Shireen said compassionately. "I'm so sorry."

"It's all right," Rose reassured the girl. "I've been applying for shops around here. Not many people want to hire a girl for three months, but I might have some luck." Then, she shifted the mood, grinning. "So, best be getting ready, then. Can't go shopping in my jim-jams now can I?"

"I dunno, you might start another trend with that look, like in tenth grade." Shireen smiled at her.

Rose walked into her room, quickly dressing.

"So, Rose," Shireen started from outside the bedroom. "So it's three months before you go to uni."

Rose's heart sank. She had a feeling where this was going. "So?"

"_So_," Shireen replied curtly, as if the answer was so obvious. "It's your last chance to have a bit of fun, you know."

"What, like a fling?" Rose muttered sarcastically.

"No, no," Shireen replied quickly, and Rose sighed in relief. Then, with a hint of reproach in her voice, the brunette continued. "Well, it's your choice, really."

Rose stepped out of the bedroom, clad only in a slimming pair of jeans and a red bra, a red long-sleeved shirt hanging off of her arms in mid-dress, her mouth agape in horror.

"Shireen!"

"Well, I'm just saying." Shireen put her hands up as if a sign of defence as Rose pulled the shirt on.

"Shireen, I _don't_ want you to set me up on a blind date," Rose stated. It wasn't because she had just gotten out of a relationship; instead it was because she didn't want a "fling." She didn't like the whole short-term dating bit. She'd done too much of that in high school.

"Come on, Rose," coaxed Shireen, wagging her meticulously curved eyebrows. "When have I ever steered you wrong?"

Rose thought about that. True, the only times Shireen had set Rose up on a blind date was with two of her long-term relationships. The first one, Marcus, had broken it off with _her_ because he had been "too bored" since they had gone out for three months. The second one was Mickey—well, it hadn't been a blind date, more like a push from Shireen.

"I'll think about it," Rose replied. "For now, let's just go shopping."

Shireen would drop it, knowing that pushing Rose would just push her farther away from the idea. She grinned. "Yeah. I saw this lovely skirt at a shop a few blocks down. It's to _die_ for."

Rose smiled, grabbing her purse and her keys before heading out the door with Shireen. Shireen was the first to go, Rose following her, stopping at the door.

The pictures were gone. She was filled with rage, sorrow and anger at her dad. She would normally pass the pictures hanging on the wall by the door every day, every time she went out somewhere. Pictures of a happier time, almost fifteen years ago, when Rose was a toddler. A time where it was her mum, her dad, and her. A happy family. Now, the wall was barren, the last remaining reminder of her mum gone. She would be sure to talk to her dad when they saw each other next.

She composed herself for a moment, before heading out the door and joining Shireen outside. They rose the bus to the various shops, trying on clothes here and there. Rose had picked out a lovely t-shirt with light blue, pink and lavender tie-dye designs, and a cute pair of black pants, and a nice sundress for if and when she would go out somewhere.

"What do you think of this?" Shireen asked, holding up a slimming red dress. It was simple, and very gorgeous, sensual.

"Yeah," Rose nodded. "I think it would look great on you."

"Not for me, silly! For you!" Shireen handed her the dress. "You know, for if and when you ever get a date."

"Shireen!" Rose tried to sound as mad as she could, but there was a hint of contemplation behind it. Rose took the dress, holding it against her. In the mirror, it indeed looked very nice with her.

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to, you know, try it on," Rose smiled, taking the dress into a fitting room.

She tried it on, zipping it up and looked around for a mirror. None.

"So, how's it fitting?" Shireen called.

Rose stepped out, silently cursing the person who designed a fitting room with no mirrors. Stepping out, she saw that there were many mirrors, and she looked stunning in the dress.

Shireen gasped. "Oh, Rose. It's definitely you."

She was right. It fit her snugly, hugging all of her curves, but still being conservative enough for a nice date.

She looked at the price tag, and immediately dropped it. "Well, I can't."

"Oh, Rose come on!" Shireen argued, looking at it herself. "It's only ₤25. It's marked down and everything. It's perfect."

"Yeah, but Dad—"

"He'll understand. It's your last chance at a little happiness before you go to university," Shireen looked down at her, as if scolding. her.

Rose looked wistfully at the dress again, looking at the price tag. The original price was almost three times as much, and 80 percent deal. It screamed Rose's name, but she just wasn't sure.

"All right," Rose sighed. "I'll buy it. For something that _won't _be a date, you hear?"

Shireen smiled deviously as a response as the girls continued shopping.

After an hour, they decided to they had decided to take a break at a small little café around the block from Rose's flat.

"So," Shireen started. "I have this friend, Dan, who I haven't talked to in a long time, but he's really nice and—"

"Shireen, _no._" Rose almost shouted, though with a smile at her friend. "I don't want any pity dates, thank you. I just got through with the whole Mickey thing, and I don't want to hear any more until next year."

"Rose," Shireen started. "I don't care. You know, this whole day it's been one thing or another. You have to live your life before life starts living you. You won't get anywhere in life just sitting around waiting for things to come to you. You have to go out there and go to the things yourself."

"It's just—" Rose started, but Shireen interrupted her.

"_It's just—"_ She mocked Rose. "It's just nothing! Come on, what's one silly little date gonna do, hurt you? No! What are you worried that you'll end up falling in love?"

Her words seemed to ring out. Shireen got up. "Just think it over. I'll be in the loo."

Rose paused, thinking of what Shireen had said.

_What, are you worried you'll fall in love?_

"No," Rose stated, quietly, though that was what she was thinking.

She had thought she was in love with Mickey, but ended up getting hurt. It wasn't until they started to drift apart that she realized that she loved him, but only as a friend. She wanted to be able to be open with him like she was before they had ever gone out.

Rose looked around. Couples laughing and kissing. A mother, father and their newborn baby…it made her feel a little…lonely.

She thought back to one of her dreams, from a few nights ago. She didn't remember much of it, and she had thought about keeping a dream journal. The only thing she remembered was a man. A presence that made her feel loved, and welcomed. She had never felt that way before about someone, and it was time she stopped waiting for Mr. Right to come to her. Perhaps she needed another nudge in the right direction.

"So," Shireen sat down, looking at the menu. "Do you know what you want?"

Rose looked up, meeting her friend's eyes.

"I want a date."

Rose was nervous. She was worried that she had made a bad mistake. She thought about all the possibilities and disasters this night could bring her.

Shireen had made reservations at a lovely restaurant called Villa de Bruno, a white-tablecloth restaurant. Rose was dressed in a red dress with a v-neck, sipping champagne lightly. She hadn't ordered yet; she was waiting for her date to come.

He was supposed to arrive fifteen minutes ago. Maybe he got caught in traffic. Shireen didn't tell her much about him, just that he was a few years older than her. Which made Rose even more nervous.

She decided that she wanted this night to just end. Get this date over with. Nothing good could come out of tonight. Sure, maybe she could end up liking him, or God forbid, maybe she'd fall in love. Then what? She'd go to college, away from him, and they'd never see each other again. It'd truly be a summer fling.

Where was he? Rose started to get antsy. Maybe he saw her and didn't like something about her. Maybe he got stuck in traffic. Maybe he decided that this whole blind date thing was stupid.

A man sat down at the chair across the table from her. About ten years difference, maybe a little less. Big brown hair, dark brown eyes, high cheekbones. He wore a suit, with a brown coat over it. He was pretty cute, Rose had to admit.

"You're here for the blind date?" the man asked.

"Yeah," Rose replied. "I'm Rose Tyler." She extended a hand which the man took, shaking it.

"I'm—uh," he sucked air through his teeth, putting his hand behind his back, seeming nervous. "I'm actually _not_ the date."

"Oh," Rose furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"You were expecting to meet up with Dan Webber, right?" the man asked.

"Shireen didn't tell me the name, but I think that's probably him." Rose replied, now more confused than ever.

"Shireen…" the man muttered under his breath. "Well, you see, what Shireen failed to mention is that, well…he's engaged."

"What?!"

"Yes," the man replied. "He's getting engaged to a lovely girl. Trisha something. Anyway. Shireen and Dan hadn't heard from each other in a while. He's a friend of her brother's. So, when she called Dan and asked if he wanted to go on a blind date, he said yes, thinking she was joking. Until she called him again this morning to remind him. When he realized she was serious, he sent me over to tell you. I'm sorry, Miss Tyler."

"It's all right," Rose reassured the man. "I've had something like this—well, not as different—happen before. At least he didn't just stand me up."

"Well, I better—" the man started, but reluctantly as he began to stand.

"Now, hold on," Rose said, and then man stopped, looking at her. "You took the time out to come down here to tell me all of this. And, of course, this meal is entirely paid for by Shireen. No harm in taking advantage of it, now is there, Mr.—"

"Smith. John Smith," the man grinned, a boyish grin that charmed her. "And I do see your point, Miss Tyler. No point in having it go to waste. Thank you so much."

"My pleasure, Mr. Smith. And please. Let's drop the formalities. It's Rose," Rose grinned up at him.

"All right, then, Rose," John grinned at her. "And please, call me John."

"All right then, John," Rose smiled back at him.

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A/N: I hoped you liked that. Short, I know. And believe me, it'll get a LOT better. No, Rose's dad in this story is NOT Pete from DW, and yes, John Smith is portrayed by David Tennant. It'll get much better, I promise. More juicier (not like that!—well, maybe) but it'll be better. :D Anyway. Please review! 


	2. Computer Genius

**Partners In Time**

A/N: Okay, so the last chapter wasn't the greatest. Well, here's the next one. It's better!

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**Chapter 2: Computer Genius**

In her mind, she was completely nervous. He seemed normal enough, but she only hoped she wouldn't make a total fool of herself.

She sensed he was a bit nervous as well, as he was fidgeting a lot in his seat. He was messing with his tie, and pulling at it often.

"So," Rose started, hopefully trying to start some interesting conversation.

"So," John replied in the same tone, looking at her. It made her want to laugh at the way he looked at her.

"Um…" Rose tried to think of something, anything that was worth talking about.

"So, uh, lovely weather we're having…" started John.

"Yeah," Rose replied, just a little bit more uncomfortable. Uh-oh. Small talk.

An awkward silence fell over the two.

The waiter approached their table carrying a large tray with two bowls of soup on it, a cup of tea for the both of them, two full water glasses, and a basket of bread and crackers. He placed it on the table, handed the items out to both of them and left.

"So," started John, stirring in two sugars into his tea, and then picking up a packet of crackers to put into his soup. "Since we already know what I'm doing here, I was just wondering…why a beautiful woman such as yourself would go on a blind date. I thought someone with your…whole self—not just the looks but your personality…would have the pick of all the boys she's beating off with a stick?"

He seemed to realize something, though Rose didn't mind that he asked. He seemed flustered, nervous. "—Oh, that was rude of me. I shouldn't ask things like that. Too far? I hope it wasn't—"

"It's okay," Rose told him, smiling. "Well," she started, sighing. "Actually, I didn't want to come on this blind date. Not that your company is bad or anything. A few weeks ago, I just ended a relationship with my ex-boyfriend Mickey, who I went out with for three years. Shireen thought I needed to get back into the dating area again before I go to college and get too involved in school."

"Oh," John slightly frowned. "I see."

"Not like that!" Rose quickly added. "I don't mean like a quick thing or anything like that. I mean, well, it was Shireen's idea. I just thought…well, I got tired of waiting around for the man of my dreams to come to me. I decided I would try to find him myself." She smiled at John.

"Oh!" he gasped as he opened the crackers, all of them spilling out. He had been listening so intently to what Rose was saying that he accidentally poured the crackers into his tea instead of his soup.

"Oh," Rose gasped as she saw what happeneed. She fought the urge to laugh. It was at that moment that the waiter had come to ask for their orders so John asked for a new tea before they each placed their orders.

John looked to Rose after the waiter left, smiling. "What?" he asked, before laughing at himself.

Rose quickly joined him, bursting into peals of laughter. "I'm sorry—" she started through laughter. "It's just—I don't think I've ever seen anybody—"

"That's gotta be new record," John replied through laughter. "I ought to submit that to the Darwin awards!"

Rose laughed at that. The waiter brought the tea for John, setting it down. John grabbed a sugar, but then stopped, glancing at her, grinning.

"Better be careful I don't put this in my soup, now!" he grinned, Rose giggled.

She felt much better. The ice was broken.

"So, John," Rose started after they got over the whole crackers-in-tea thing. "What do you do, then?"

Rose decided that even though he wasn't really officially her date, she did enjoy his company.

"Well, I'm studying to get my Doctorate," John replied, taking a sip of the tea . "I'm thinking about becoming a teacher. Somewhere in science. Maybe astrophysics."

"What's astrophysics?" Rose asked.

"It's like the study of wormholes. You know, like alternate realities and time, and interplanetary travel…" John looked at Rose as if he had said too much. Maybe he was worried he would come off as geeky.

"Really?" Rose smiled, slightly relieved. "I was actually thinking about majoring in Astronomy."

"Ooh," he replied, grinning in relief. "Astronomy's fascinating. Just think about it, all the millions and billions of planets and stars, places just waiting to be explored."

"You know, I had a friend who used to be able to name all the constellations?" Rose almost laughed when she started. "And the stars, too!" Rose laughed a bit, reminiscing. "But I think he made it all up just to impress everyone."

"Really?" John's face lit up.

"Yeah," Rose replied. She couldn't remember his name. It seemed to long ago…she tried to think of him, but every time she tried picturing him, all she saw was John. Uh-oh. Not a good sign. "He'd always be like—ooh, this one is Klavox 7 and this one is—and people would believe him!"

"Hmm," John said. "I ought to try that someday." He grinned, making Rose laugh.

"You ever wonder if...you know, if there's other worlds?" Rose started. "I mean, like, worlds like Earth, you know, like where there's living things on there. Like humans, and maybe not humans and…" her voice trailed off as she saw John's expression. "I dunno, it's stupid."

"It is not!" John replied passionately. "I mean—I also wonder that myself. You know, you look up at the stars and think, 'There's so much out there. Why aren't doing anything about it?'"

"Well, I mean, there is NASA and other things like that," Rose replied. She loved to talk about aliens and other things like that. It fascinated her ever since she was a child. "But, yeah, I know what you mean. There's so much to do out there and we're just…waking up, going to work, riding the bus home—"

"Eating chips," John injected. They shared a grin.

"Eating chips," Rose agreed. "And going to sleep…it gets a bit dull after a while."

"Oh, tell me about it," John replied. "Imagine, astronauts in the middle of space exploration, ready to step on a planet billions of light-years away only to get a call from their mum!" She laughed at that, as he mimicked a woman's voice, raising it an octave higher. "Paul, you better get your bum home before seven! I don't care if you're making history! Be ready for dinner! And pick up the dry cleaning on your way home!"

Rose burst into fits of laughter, and John soon joined her. When their laughter subsided, they smiled at each other.

"So, Rose," John started, hesitantly. "Can I ask you something that I hope doesn't upset you?"

"Go ahead," Rose answered, slightly wondering what it was.

"Well," John started as they started to leave. "Since this meeting was…not entirely either of our choice…well, I was just wondering if…well, we could meet up again where it _is _our choice…and perhaps, well, maybe it could be soon."

"You mean like another date?" Rose asked, slightly alarmed. Funny, she wasn't looking for any more dates, but another one with John Smith seemed like a very good idea.

"Well—" he seemed flustered again. "You just got over a long relationship, so I mean, it'd be rude, and…well, I mean…it doesn't have to be. But maybe like, you know, two people just going out to dinner or lunch again and they know each other and talk and…well, you know. Just friends?"

Rose smiled, grinning slowly. "Yeah. I'd like that."

She got her jacket, waiting for him to be ready to leave with her. She extended her hand out to him, which he gladly took, fingers intertwining.

It felt so weird. It was almost as if he didn't have to ask. He didn't think there were any mixed signals at all, just two friends. It was as if they'd been friends forever.

She started laughing again.

"What?" he asked this time, turning toward her.

"Your shoes. You're wearing Converse shoes with a suit!" Rose laughed lightly.

He feigned hurt. "I quite like them! And besides, unlike you most likely, I have no other shoes to wear. They go."

"Only you could make them go," Rose shook her head affectionately. She grinned at him. "Alright. We're gonna have to get you new shoes. That's what we're doing next time. Shoe shopping!"

As they approached the parking lot, they said their goodbyes, after giving each other their numbers and e-mail addresses.

Rose walked back to her flat, feeling light-headed. It was weird. She thought about John Smith. She thought about the way she could feel so at-home with him, so comfortable around him. It felt incredible. She hadn't met anyone like that since—well, Mickey.

"Dad, I'm home!" Rose called, after shutting the door behind her.

"Hey, Rose," Jake called from the couch across the room from the T.V. which was on but muted at the moment. He looked back to face her. "So, how'd everything go?"

Rose shrugged. "It was okay. The original guy didn't show."

"Original?" Jake asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yeah," Rose smiled. "He's getting engaged."

"Oh, Rose," he seemed worried for her. "I'm so sorry."

"No," Rose replied. "It's okay. He sent one of his friends to tell me. He was really nice, we're even gonna see each other again, but we're just friends right now."

"Oh, really?" Her dad seemed mildly surprised, but mostly sceptical. He beckoned Rose over for a hug as he got up, turning the T.V. off. "Well, I'll see you in the morning. Hope everything goes good for you."

"Thanks, Dad," Rose half-laughed as she hugged him. She sauntered over to the couch where her dad was sitting before, grabbing the remote and turning on the T.V. as her dad rounded the stairs.

"So, what's this bloke's name?" Jake asked.

"John Smith," Rose replied, and turned the volume up, flipping the channel.

She didn't see Jake's face fall at the mention of the name.

She settled on watching a movie on T.V. A musical, Moulin Rouge. She loved that movie, and had seen it three times since it came out. She watched it until it finished at almost 2:30, before flipping through the channels again.

Finding Nemo was next, until that finished at 4:30. And then Harry Potter was on, the fourth one. She couldn't wait to see the fifth one, even though it already came out almost a week ago. She just hadn't had time to see it.

She had gotten through about halfway when she started yawning. She was tired, but didn't fall asleep. She couldn't fall asleep. She kept thinking about John. John who was so familiar. John who seemed to like the same things she did, who seemed like he was a lot like her.

Wait a minute…since when did Barty Crouch Jr. look so much like John? Oh, she was getting too tired for her own liking.

She found herself thinking of him all night. Going over the whole dinner, word by word, action by action. She wondered if he liked her. She wondered what he thought of her.

Then she paused. Wait a minute, why did she care what he thought of her? She'd just met him. She liked him, only as a friend. Yes, that was it. If she started thinking of him as anything more than that, she knew that she would see him in a different light. And she didn't want that. Not that there was anything wrong with it--to the contrary, she might have liked to go out on an official date with him. But she just didn't want to get caught up in something that felt really good and have it end quickly.

It took her a while, but she eventually fell asleep.

---

He couldn't stop thinking about her. It was already two days gone by, and she was constantly on his mind.

Just friends…that was okay. He wouldn't rush her into anything.

He had decided against calling her yesterday; he'd come off as too needy, and after getting over such a long relationship, she didn't need that.

But, he just couldn't take it anymore. He decided to call her today. He was actually working on some things on his laptop.

Research, really. He had no luck for a little while, and decided to take a break to call her.

"Hello?" a woman answered. He recognized the voice immediately. Still, wouldn't hurt to be polite.

"Hello," John greeted back. "May I speak with Rose Tyler?"

"Yes, this is her." He could hear the smile behind it. Good sign.

"Hello, Rose!" he greeted cheerily, then hoped that she hadn't forgotten him. "Erm, yes, this is John Smith. I dunno if you remember me—"

"Of course I remember you," Rose replied, half-laughing. "How could anyone forget the famous crackers-in-tea incident?"

"Oi! I resent that. Well, for the record I _was_ listening to you, you know," John replied, relieved. "You could've hypnotized me for all I know!"

"Are you saying that my voice is mesmerizing?" she asked, cheekily.

"Not as much as mine," he quipped, and they both laughed.

"So whatcha doing right now?" Rose asked.

"Erm—" John looked to his laptop. Currently, the screen showed a red popup with words ACCESS DENIED on it. "Research."

Well, that wasn't entirely a lie. It just wasn't for school. He typed something again on his laptop. Again the popup with the words ACCESS DENIED came up.

"What about you?" he asked her.

"Oh, not much. Just got done with the groceries. Relaxing, you know, watching the telly. My dad taped a good episode of Dead Ringers. Not exactly the most exciting day, is it?" Rose asked, as John tried another password.

"You could say that again." ACCESS DENIED. "Although I do love Dead Ringers."

"So, guess what?" Rose asked. "I saw Shireen yesterday. Teased her about the whole engaged thing."

Despite his frustration at the computer, John chuckled. "Really? I bet she was mad."

"No, actually," Rose smiled. "I think she wants to meet you."

"Well," John started, closing the laptop and rubbing his eyes to try to clear out the frustration. He knew if he tried any harder to get the password that his computer would probably get sent a virus or something. And besides, he knew that he shouldn't even try that; it was highly illegal. Still, he had to get to the bottom of a certain mystery. "You know, I think that'll be our third date." He replied, with a grin, giving a chuckle to let her know he was only half-joking.

"Maybe," Rose let out a nervous laugh. "You know, something, John?"

"Hm?" he asked, as he walked over to his room, examining a bookshelf that was filled with chaos among books and papers.

"You know, I was thinking…well, it _has_ been a coupla' days…" she started, as he found the book he was looking for. He pulled it out, walking back to the living room. It was a tan covering, with nothing written on it, small but oh, so very important. He placed it on the table, deciding to open it after they hung up.

He really liked Rose, and didn't want to ruin anything, friendships or otherwise. He would give her his full attention.

"And, well…" he rather enjoyed listening to her stumble. It reminded him of himself. "I was wondering if you would like to get lunch? Maybe, uh…I dunno. Maybe tomorrow?"

He grinned. "Sounds great. Where?"

"Well," Rose started, thinking. John could tell she was being spontaneous. "How bout Café Milan?"

"They have great chips," John grinned. "I know where that is. I'll be there." he smiled. "Lunch then…how bout…1:00?"

"Yeah," she replied. He could hear the relief in her voice.

"And we can buy those new shoes for you," Rose teased.

John groaned. "But I like these shoes very much!"

He heard Rose laughing. "Okay, put it this way: your shoes and your suit go together as well as tea and crackers!"

He laughed with her. "Oh, you're never gonna let that one go, are you?" He laughed again. "Okay. You just wait, Rose Tyler. Because when _you_ do something thick like that, I'll hold it against you, too."

He laughed, as did she.

They talked much more after that. They found they had a lot of things in common. They had found out they liked the same bands, had some of the same hobbies, and other interests. Even down to their favourite place for chips. Rose had told him she was sweetly surprised that John and her were very much alike. She said that she had a feeling that they were going to be good friends. John grinned.

And he was also pleasantly surprised. It had been quite a long time since he was able to tell somebody just about anything. Of course, he didn't dare tell Rose about his dreams. She'd think he was too weird.

They ended up talking for five hours, until about one in the morning. It wasn't until they were literally falling asleep on the phone that they even thought about hanging up.

"Goodnight," Rose murmured sleepily, as she had told him she wasn't going to hang up just yet. He had agreed, resting his head on the phone as he curled up on the couch. He yawned, barely hearing Rose's voice as he drifted off to sleep.

"Goodnight," he mumbled back.

After a few minutes, Rose's voice came back, more loudly and more awake. "John?" she called.

"Mm-hm?" he lazily replied.

"I have to go. My dad's home and he's telling me to get off the phone. Phone bill and all," Rose sounded almost wistful.

John woke up a little bit, nodding. "All right, Rose. Goodnight. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah," she replied. "And don't sleep in too late, you hear?" He chuckled lightly. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight," he replied. She hung up, and then he did the same, placing the phone on the table, next to the tan book.

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked it! Well, it wasn't as boring as the first chapter. Hmm…I wonder what John Smith is up to? Does this have anything to do with Doctor Who? Why was he trying to hack into a top-secret website? Research? lol. Read on to find out! And please review! 


	3. I Can't Decide

**Partners in Time**

A/N: As requested, I will put a little more of the back story in here. I hope you like it. Currently listening to Scissors Sisters' I Can't Decide from Doctor Who (you know that scene from LotTL. I love it, so I'm titling this chapter. It has nothing to do with the rest of the story.

Thank you to my reviewers so far, TennantFangirl (love the name :D) CiciRose, Horsie Friend, forestwife, and DoctorWhoRules. :D

* * *

**Chapter 3: ****I Can't Decide**

_She dreamt many things. First, she dreamt that she was flying. She had never actually flown before in real life; she just stayed in London her whole life, taking public transportation. _

_This type of flying was different; it was almost as if _she _were the one flying, like a bird gliding through the air. Only that gliding part was very bumpy and she wasn't in the air as much as her feet were planted on the ground._

_It was still an exhilarating feeling, though, nonetheless._

_Quickly, the dream changed. Once again, she found herself being chased by the same person that chased her the previous night. She was running and turning and she didn't dare look back. She didn't know who it was chasing her, but she was scared for her life. _

_The tunnels were dark, the ground covered in very shallow water that barely went beyond the soles of her shoes. The tunnel she was running through was hollow, but she could hear the thing chasing her._

_And finally...dead end. A __metal grate stood in the way between her and freedom. The person behind her was gaining. She could hear the splish-splash of water beneath their feet._

_And suddenly, the dream changed. Someone grabbed her hand, gripping it tightly. She looked up to see John Smith, the man she had met earlier. He wore the same outfit he had worn when she met him, the suit and Converse shoes, with a brown overcoat. He looked at her with a great depth in his eyes, matched with concern for her._

'_Are you all right?' his face seemed to ask. She could only nod._

_He looked back to the person who was approaching, the tunnel still dark. He dug through his pocket, handing her a large metal object. He pressed it into her hand, turning to look at her, nodding, before he walked forward, toward the person._

_She tried to shout for him, but found she didn't have a voice. And suddenly, the grate behind her disappeared. She ran through, still not looking back. Finally, she ran until she found a small patch of light, looking to see a ladder. She climbed onto the first step, but then stopped, opening to see the item in her hand. But before she could, she felt a hand on her shoulder—_

Rose sat up, gasping, her breathing heavy. She calmed down, reminding herself that it was just a dream, as the dream started to fade away.

_Oh, no you don't_, she thought to the dream, quickly reaching over the bed to a small book that she had just purchased the day before. Her dream journal.

Quickly, she wrote down everything about the dream she could remember, more details coming to her. She wrote frantically, the pencil scribbling until the dream stayed in both her book and mind. She remembered it more, now, and was sure she wouldn't forget it.

She glanced up. Morning already. 8:00 am. It was time to get up. After all, she had a lunch to attend later.

She giggled at her dream, now thinking it silly. Imagine. John Smith, now literally the man of her dreams. She just hoped this wasn't going to become a habit. She'd really started to take a liking to him. She could tell him just about anything.

Of course, she didn't tell him of the dreams she had been having. He'd think she was too weird.

She got ready for the day as she usually did. Taking a quick shower, getting dressed, styling her hair to curl it (she secretly hoped John would like it—wait, no, where did that come from?), going to eat breakfast, talking on the phone—before she headed out at 12:30.

She went to the small café where they agreed to meet. She found John quickly, sitting at an outside table, his nose stuck in the laptop on the table, glasses hanging off of his nose.

He was wearing a light black long-sleeved shirt, with tan pants. For some reason, Rose didn't think he looked right in either. She actually had imagined he would show up in the same suit as he did the first date.

She sat down across from him, not saying anything until he noticed she was there. She wondered how long it would take him to notice.

"Well, hello to you, too," he greeted, without looking up at her. She saw the slow smirk spread across his face.

"How'd you do that?" Rose asked. "You looked so lost in your computer."

"I'm the master of multi-tasking, what can I say?" he grinned, looking up at her whilst folding the laptop and putting it away.

"You mean you're the 'Doctor' of multi-tasking?" Rose retorted playfully. He had told her on the phone that he always wanted to be called 'Doctor' which was the main reason he wanted to get his Doctorate. She had laughed at that.

"You're never going to let that one go, will you?" he asked, through his glasses, and they almost dropped off of his nose. Rose laughed.

The waitress approached them, and they quickly ordered, soup and tea for John—much to Rose's amusement—and a salad for her.

"So," John started, seriously. "Have you found anything?"

Rose had told him on the phone the night before how she was looking for a job. She shook her head. "No. But I do have a few interviews this week."

"That's fantastic!" he grinned. "I'm sure your dad would love the extra help."

"Yeah," she replied. "Just till we get me settled into university and he gets back on his feet. I think teaching high school kids is starting to get to him."

"Well," he started. "If you—either of you—need any help, I do have some connections at the university." Rose had learned last night that they were going to be attending the same university.

She smiled, slightly patronizingly. "I couldn't ask you to that. But thank you, so much."

A small comfortable silence fell over the two.

"So, Mickey called earlier," Rose told him. He looked up at her, slightly worried. "On my way over here. He called earlier today around nine."

"And…?" started John. "How is he? Did you guys work things out?"

Rose smiled. She was very touched at how John listened to her, worried about her. It was like they were best friends. Almost. Shireen didn't even like to talk about these things. She wasn't exactly the best listener. She would always say something along the lines of 'Life's too short. Don't think about the past.'

When Rose talked to John about Mickey, he listened very intently, giving her good advice and even dubbing Mickey as 'Mickey the Idiot' for the way he hadn't been trying at the their relationship.

"Well," Rose started. "He understands. He actually was thinking about breaking it off with me for a while. He's actually already seeing someone else. He was a couple days before we broke up, and that's why he stopped talking to me. He felt too guilty. He thought _I _was mad at _him!_"

"Well," started John, his voice an octave higher, and he _tsk_ed. "You know, _men._ They're pretty much a different species!"

Rose did a double take, looking at him incredulously, raising an eyebrow, and trying not to laugh.

"What?" John shrugged innocently. "It's what you women say, isn't it?"

Rose lost it right there, erupting into peals of laughter. John quickly joined her.

When their laughter subsided, John's face became more serious. "So you guys are okay, then?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah. It'll be a few days before we can see each other, though. He's working all week."

John nodded, taking a sip of his tea as she continued.

The next part was the hardest to say. Why, though? Rose wondered. It wasn't as if they were dating or anything. "My, uh, my dad wants to meet you."

John's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah. He, uh…well, okay. I tell him just about everything. In fact, he was one of the ones who talked Shireen to try to set me up. And—well, I told him how the blind date went—and I mentioned you, and—well, he just wants to meet you. He asked if you could come Tuesday."

"In three days?" John asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "I'm sort of a cook, too. I mean, if you want to bring anything, that's fine too."

He merely looked at her. "Well, I'll see what I can do. He doesn't think that we're—"

"—No." Rose quickly replied as she saw what he was implying.

"And your mum?" he asked, smiling through his spectacles. "I'll bet the first thing she'll do when I walk in is slap me silly for taking out a nineteen year old girl!"

Rose's face fell, which he caught. He immediately tried to catch himself. "Oh, I'm sorry. That's me being rude again. I'm no good at these people things."

"No, it's okay," Rose waved a hand at him, as if to dismiss his statement. "Mum…Mum died six years ago, when I was thirteen. She was out on the street, you know, shopping. She always loved to shop. And when she came out, some guy was out there…wanted her purse. Mum was a fighter, to the end. She wouldn't let him walk all over her. She didn't know he had a knife, though. They never caught him."

Rose felt tears well up in her eyes. She didn't dare let them fall. It was still hard to talk about her mum, but over the years she learned to cope with it.

John placed his hand on hers. "It's all right." She smiled a little at that.

"Anyway," she tried to change the subject quickly, since she didn't want to bring the mood down. She knew that he noticed this. She glanced down at his feet, playfully grimacing. "I see you're wearing the same shoes."

His face fell in mock-horror at what she was implying. "No, no! I'll meet your father, I'll even meet Mickey the Idiot and I'll even be _locked_ in a room with the two…just don't make me go _shopping_! Especially when it's shoe shopping. I love my shoes."

Rose laughed at that. "Well," she started, in an all-serious tone, but her face anything but serious. "I guess we _could_ go later."

Another comfortable silence passed over the two.

"So," John started. "What are your plans after you leave this café?"

"I dunno. Not really much anything. Why?" Rose asked, wondering what was next.

"Well," John started, sucking the air through his teeth. "I was watching Harry Potter movies last night—"

"Me, too!" Rose grinned at him. "They were on the night before, too."

"And well," he started. "I was wondering…have you seen the fifth one yet?"

"No," Rose admitted. "But I want to. Oh, I loved the books. Fifth one's sad."

"Oh, I know," John replied. "Can't wait for the seventh one to come out this weekend. Well, anyway. I was wondering if you wanted to see it with me?"

"Yeah, I'd love to," Rose replied. "So, did you watch all of them?"

"Yeah. Saw them all when they came to the theatres. Waited all night for the midnight opening for the first one, never doing _that_ again, too many crowds—didn't get out until 4:30 in the morning, and by that time I had to go to work the next day—anyway! Yeah, so I was watching them all last night, but I didn't make it through the fourth one. Fell asleep!"

"Oh, me, too." Rose grinned. "I was so tired I even thought you were Barty Crouch Jr.!"

"Me?" John started. "Nope. Can't say I'm a Death Eater. Though people _have _called me Casanova." He grinned, winking.

"Too bad you can't have _that _as your title," Rose grinned at him. "Instead of people calling you Mr. or Dr. they'll just call you Casanova!"

They laughed again, finishing the rest of the meal.

As they left to go to the movies, Rose once again stuck out her hand, John taking it. It was getting to be almost a natural thing now.

* * *

Rose had arrived back at her flat after the movie. John had walked her home, but couldn't stay very long. He had to get fitted for a tux for his friend Dan's wedding in about a half-hour. 

They said their goodbyes, hugging, before John went in the other direction.

Rose opened her front door. It was now about 7:30, and she wanted to just relax and watch T.V.

"Dad!" She called, picking up the mail on the floor that was dropped through the mail slot on the front door. "I'm home!"

No response. She saw the note on the T.V. again. He would be out all night this time. Rose sighed.

After turning on the T.V., Rose sifted through the letters. Bills. Bills. Junk mail. Letter for Dad. Bills. Junk mail. Phone bill (uh-oh, she thought). Junk mail from university. A small white envelope.

ROSE TYLER. It had her name and address on it, with a single stamp. No return address. It was average size, and plain and white.

Rose tore it open, carefully. She had heard about terrorist attacks and all the hype, though she didn't believe it would happen to her. A small letter was inside.

She opened the letter, and a small photograph fell out.

She dropped both at the same time.

It was a small photograph, black and white, perhaps taken from the sixties.

_DON'T TRUST HIM. HE'S DANGEROUS._

The photograph was of John, in that same suit he wore with those stupid Converse shoes. But that wasn't the thing that scared her the most. At first, she thought that the letter was probably sent by an ex-girlfriend who had seen them together.

Until she herself in the picture, wearing a dress she had never even owned before.

* * *

A/N: Oh, I'm bad. Such a cliffie. I'm not sure that I can do this update-very frequently thing. So how's that for an American? I don't know much about British culture (though I would very much like to) so I set everything as Harry Potter :D 

So many unanswered questions. Hm…think you know the ending? Think again. I'd love to hear feedback, predictions (any requests for the next chapter?)

Please review!


	4. You're My Best Friend

**Partners in Time**

A/N: I hope you like this chapter! Thank you so much for all my reviewers! And to all of my people who made a prediction: I'm gonna throw ya'll off!! Hahaha!

Also, a few things. Yes, I am setting it during a wedding (probably not _at_ a wedding, just during preparation time). My sister is getting married (and her name is Rose, what a coincidence!), and fitting and alterations are a witch-with-a-capital-B.

And, yes. Much to my embarrassment, I was the one who inspired the crackers-in-tea bit. A few weeks ago I was with my grandmother and dad and I was drinking coffee, and I had soup, and well, you pretty much know the rest. Of course, it was because _I _was the one talking, not the other way around. I never let myself live that one down. :D

* * *

**Chapter 4: You're My Best Friend**

It was Monday. Rose and John hadn't talked Sunday; John had to get alterations for his tux and Rose…well, Rose just said she was busy. She had sounded very put off, as if nervous about something.

John just hoped it wasn't about what he thought it was.

He was surprised to get a call from her today. From the way she was acting, he had thought that it would be _his_ turn to call her. Not that he didn't mind her calling, of course.

He had been reading from the tan, plain book when she called. It was filled with sketches, messy handwriting, and indecipherable equations.

The phone rang, and he set the book on the coffee table in his living room, walking to the phone and picking it up.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hey," she replied. Then, with self-reproach in her voice, she added, "Um…is this John?"

"Yes, indeedy. What can I help you with, Rose?" he asked, as he heard her let out a breath. A nervous one, perhaps?

"Um," started Rose. "How are you?"

John froze for a moment. Rose sounded weird. She was completely devoid of her usually energetic and cheeky tone.

"I'm…fine. Are _you_ okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Rose replied. "I'm fine…John?"

"Yes?" he asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Can I stop by your flat? I…I have something to talk to you about."

He gulped, wondering what happened. She sounded so sad…or worried? No matter what, he was going to help her through it. He wondered if Mickey had something to do with it.

"Sure," he replied. "When?"

"Maybe in about twenty minutes. I have the address."

Once more he gulped, nervous. It wasn't like Rose to be this distant, gloomy. Something was seriously wrong.

"Absolutely."

* * *

Rose had no idea why she was so nervous. Her right hand was raised, curled in a loose fist, as she paused before knocking. 

She had the envelope in her pocket, her left hand resting on it. It was supposed to be that she showed him the envelope, demanded an explanation, which he would give. Somebody trying to split them up. Maybe a prank. Maybe it was Shireen. No, Shireen didn't even know where the 'Enter' button was. Let alone photoshopping a picture.

Whoever it was, it wasn't funny.

She suddenly felt stupid. What next? Of course it couldn't really be them in the photograph. Still…something didn't sit right. What if John really _was_ dangerous? It felt as if there was a side to him that she didn't know about.

Before she knocked, the door opened, revealing John who was looking at her.

"Are you coming in or not?" he asked. Rose had to smile, even though he didn't see it. Rude, but not mean. Relaxed.

"So," John started, indicating for her to sit down on a couch in his living room. He sat across from her on another couch, only a small table between them.

Rose was horrible at confrontations. She dropped the envelope inside her pocket, letting her hand stay in her pocket without touching it.

What was she going to ask? 'Hey, John. I just got this picture of you and me from the sixties and I was wondering if you were really dangerous and if you're about 60 years old…' or her favourite, 'Hey, John. I've only known you for a few days but I really feel like how we can tell each other everything. Can you tell me if you're a serial killer or on the run from the law?'

Boy, she'd come off as crazy.

"It's just…well, I dunno," Rose started. She sighed. She looked up at his worried face. "I'm okay."

He inched closer to her, leaning forward. "Are you sure? You know you can tell me if anything's bothering you."

She knew he wouldn't pursue it if she responded 'no.' She pulled the envelope out of her pocket, her hands playing with it. "I, uh," she started, fidgeting with the envelope. "I got this in the mail the other day. After we saw the movie."

She handed it to John, who took it. He opened it (well, taking the small piece of tape that Rose put on the back) and examined the photo, then the picture.

"Ronnie…" he muttered under his breath. "My ex-girlfriend."

Rose let out a breath of relief. Here was the explanation. He continued.

"She's student at the university, majoring in Media and Photography. She's done something like this before to my other girlfriends—not like I'm saying that you're my girlfriend or anything—but she has done this. She's been following me lately. A _lot_."

"Oh," Rose replied, speechless. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," John continued. "I met her first year of college. It was completely by chance. I was in the library one day, and there was nowhere for me to sit. So, I ended up sitting with her. We talked a lot, got along right away, and became somewhat close. I asked her out, we saw each other for a month, but she was too clingy, and became very possessive. I ended the relationship because I didn't like her anymore. And, ever since then, she's been following me, sending girls these types of letters to have them stay away from me, sending _me_ threatening letters, even setting up _meetings_ with girls. It's very frustrating after a while."

"What about a restraining order?" Rose asked, still trying to digest this bit of information.

"Well," John started. "I almost did. Until she was put in jail."

"Wow," Rose could only reply. "For what?"

"She caused a big fight at a bar, assaulting three guys. Ended up breaking two of their ribs with a billiard stick! Almost killed a guy with a broken bottle, and broke the other guy's nose. And, also for drinking under age."

"Oh, my god," Rose replied. "I'm sorry."

John looked at the picture again.

"It's very good detail. You know. I mean, of course, she would have gotten a picture of me in the suit. I loved that suit. Bought another just like that. And of course, it would be almost quite simple to do a greyscale of a regular photograph with a backdrop."

He then handed it back to her. His next words were a bit unnerving.

"As for you being in the picture with that dress…well, I don't know how it could've been done so perfectly."

* * *

Now it was John's turn to be nervous. Ever since he left his flat he had been nervous. John wondered if he would be welcome. He wasn't sure if there would be prejudices against him or not. Well, he just hoped for the best. 

He knocked on the door three times, adjusting his tie. He waited, counting nervously. One, two, three.

The door opened, Rose smiling. "Hello, John," she greeted, and he was immediately relieved. He wasn't nervous anymore. As much.

She opened the door full way for him to enter, which he did, taking in the small details.

"Well," John started, smiling. "Here I am."

She smiled back at him. "Don't be nervous."

He faltered for a moment. He didn't even look nervous (well, he was trying his best to hide it anyway) and Rose still noticed? Wow.

"I'm not trying to be," John replied, his voice low. "It's a little hard, though. I've never had to meet the parents before."

"Well," Rose started, cheekily. "Just be glad we're not dating."

"Is that him?" a man's voice called out from what John guessed was the dining room or kitchen. Probably her dad.

"Yeah, Dad," she replied, then to John she added quietly, "He'll be all right, don't worry. He's very nice to people."

The man came out, looking at John. John took in the light brown hair, the greying sideburns, the tall, maybe once athletic build. He extended his hand to John.

"Hello," the man said, rather uncomfortably with a a mix of a businesslike tone. "I'm Rose's dad, Professor Jake Tyler."

"Pleased to meet you, Professor Tyler," John replied, taking his hand and shaking it. "I'm John Smith."

"Well, Rose has told me a lot about you, John," Jake said, smiling. "Very common name, isn't that, John Smith? Probably the most common name of them all!"

John laughed. Obviously trying to break the ice, though he wasn't as good as Rose was.

"Dad thought I had made up the name," Rose added, smiling. "When I told him it after the blind date, he thought I was being sarcastic!"

"Well, that was until Rose started talking about you," Jake started 'John and I did this' and 'John and I did that today.' I felt like I knew you already!"

John smiled at him.

"Well," started Jake. "Come on in! We're just setting up. I hope you don't mind."

"No, it's all right," John replied. "In fact can I help with anything?"

Jake smiled back at him. He was beginning to like John.

---

They were comfortable, sitting down, eating talking, and laughing. The ice was broken after Jake and John worked together setting up the table.

John was talking about his studies with Jake and his plans after university. Jake was telling John about his history, what he had done after he had left college to pursue his Doctorate.

Which was when the doorbell rang.

Jake stood up, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "Who could that be…?" he asked to no one in particular.

He walked to the door, Rose and John remaining in their seats.

"So," Rose started, eyeing John mischievously. "Whatcha think of Dad?"

"He's nice," replied John. "He's down-to-earth and everything. And the food's good, too." He grinned at her.

"And you know--" Rose started, her tone cheeky, but another male arrived. Much to Rose's horror, which John could tell.

A tall, athletic blond guy, about Rose's age with pale skin and brilliant blue eyes was now in the doorway of the dining room table, glaring at the both of them.

"Who're you?" he nodded to John.

"Now, Mickey," Jake started as he resumed his seat, as if talking to a child who came in screaming at the guests. "That's John. He's a new friend of Rose's. John Smith…meet, uh, well, Mickey Smith."

"Is this what you've gone and left me for? Some bloke ten years older than you?" the blond boy started.

"Mickey—" Rose started, defensively. She looked at John for help. And plus, it was only six.

"We're just friends," John finished, meeting Rose's gaze. He shot Mickey a welcoming yet still unpleasant look at him. It was a look that meant that he was willing to give him a chance, but not a second one.

"Right," Mickey said sceptically. "Isn't that how it all starts?" He paused, changing his tone slightly and looking at Rose. "Well, Rose. I was just stopping by to see if you wanted to go to see Harry Potter, but I see you've already got your date. I'll see you later—"

"Nonsense!" John interrupted, almost shouting, causing looks of confusion and alarm from everyone. He felt a slight pang of guilt when Mickey mentioned the movie. He should've left things where they were between the two. Still, it wasn't like Rose couldn't decide for herself. She had made her choice. He indicated the remaining seat around the table, looking at Mickey. "You've got to sit down! It wouldn't be a proper meal to have you go home hungry! I mean, if that's all right with Professor Tyler?"

"Of course it's fine," Jake added. "We have plenty of food. That was very kind of you, John."

"Fantastic!" John grinned. He saw the relief in Rose's eyes. He didn't want there to be any tension between him and Mickey. Still… "Here ya go, Rickey."

"It's Mickey," Mickey corrected him, glaring, but not as much as before.

"Right," John corrected, mentally smirking. "I knew that."

They ate their meal in an awkward silence, the occasional chatter, small talk, and John kept looking at Mickey. Mickey had told them earlier how he and his new girlfriend had broken up a few days ago. He just didn't like her anymore.

He noticed how Mickey kept stealing glances at Rose. He probably wanted to get back together with her. No chance.

After dinner, they sat down in the living room. John deliberately sat next to Rose so that Mickey wouldn't sit next to her. Why? He wondered. He was just trying to protect Rose from further hurt. Yes, that was it. Never mind how his mind was telling him otherwise.

During conversation, her hand snaked into his. He took it, of course, as it was the normal thing to do for them. This went unnoticed by Mickey and Jake, since they were sitting so close. Their intertwined fingers were sandwiched between them.

"So, Rose," Mickey started, obviously trying to ignore John. "I was wondering. I get off early tomorrow. Had a bit of a change in the schedule at work. Did you want to catch the new Harry Potter movie?"

"Erm…" Rose started. John felt her shift uncomfortably, her hand tightening slightly around his. "Actually, me and John saw it already."

He glared at John, and then his gaze fell toward their intertwined fingers. "Oh, I see. So, if you're not dating, then what are you then? Friends with benefits?"

"Mickey—" Rose started, a tiny hint of frustration and warning in her voice.

John snapped. "Listen, Rose and I are good friends. Nothing more. There is nothing I would keep from her, and I hope she feels the same. She's a very incredible person, and I won't sit around and listen to you talk badly about her. I've been trying to keep my mouth shut this whole time, but it's very apparent to me that you won't keep yours shut. I can't apologize for being so close to Rose, and even _if _I could, I wouldn't anyway. I am sorry if I have made you uncomfortable or jealous, but let me remind you that there is nothing to be jealous of. Rose and I are good friends, and I care about her a great deal. Now, I don't want to start a fight in a house that I am a guest of, so either I leave, you leave or we both shut our traps and try to get along. Did you get that, Rickey?"

"It's Mickey!" he replied, more than a little frustrated.

"_No. _It's Rickey," John shot back, more angrily than he would have liked.

"I _think_ I know my own name," Mickey retorted.

"You _think _you know your own name?" John replied cheekily. "How stupid are you?"

"Whatever," Mickey got up abruptly. "I'll see you later, Rose. Thankd for the dinner, Mr. Tyler."

"Mickey, don't go," Rose pleaded with him, looking between John and Mickey. John felt guilty about making such a commotion.

"It's either him or me, and I know you've made your choice," Mickey replied, looking Rose in the eye.

With that, he left, closing the door behind him harshly.

"I'm sorry," John started, getting up and grabbing his coat. "I should probably—"

"John," Rose started. "Don't you go, either. You didn't do anything wrong. He just needs some time, is all. He's not usually like this. He's really nice."

"I know," replied John. He did know. If Rose would go with someone for two years, they had to be nice, right? "But it's getting late. I'll see you soon."

He walked toward the door, and turned back to the two Tylers. Jake gave him another handshake, before pulling him into a quick hug.

"You're all right," Jake said. "You defended my daughter strongly. You're welcome to come over anytime."

John smiled at him, as Jake walked back into the living room to give the two some privacy. He honestly did feel like he was stepping on their toes, but by them telling him it was all right, he felt a littler better.

Rose hugged him next. "Call." She whispered. "And thank you." She pulled back, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She blushed, which she tried to hide. John felt his face grow hot as well.

"Well," John started, his voice a little higher than normal. He cleared his throat. "I, uh, I better get going. It was nice…sort of. I'll call you soon. I promise."

He smiled at her, before heading out the door.

He arrived back at his flat, closing the door behind him. He exhaled in relief.

Well, he thought. That had been some day.

He looked over at his coffee table, taking off his tie. He had thought about what he had said earlier. He picked up the small tan book. There's nothing he wouldn't share with her. It was true.

He decided he would call her soon, invite her over, and show her the book. Hopefully she wouldn't think he was crazy.

And then he stopped. He said he cared about her a great deal. What did that mean? Of course he meant as a friend, but did he mean more? He thought over his behaviour, not only of today, but of the previous days with her.

He though of Rose, beautiful Rose, smiling and laughing, making his heart light up every time he saw her. The way they held hands, the comfortable openness between them, and how he missed the warmth of her hand when she was gone.

"Oh, God. Help us all," he sighed.

He was falling in love with her.

* * *

A/N: Well? Did I through you off or what? I thought I would add the Doctor and Mickey's jealousy from the show onto here, as sort of like a mirror. Mickey sure looks different, doesn't he? And John and Jake are friends? What's the world coming to? More next time on Partners. 

Still. Come on with predictions. Yours are very good so far. I like the ideas…but, keep guessing. This is getting weird because every chapter seems to be exactly eight pages on Microsoft Word. :D


	5. Every Time We Touch

**Partners in Time**

A/N: Well, here it is: Chapter 5. I hope you enjoy this chapter. This is going to be it for now, at least until the weekend is over. Tomorrow is my Orientation day for my high school (yay! Sophomore! W00t!) And this whole weekend is going to be pretty busy. Anyway. I hope this'll tide you over. I love your predictions thus far. :D

I know this is a bit Mickey-bashing. I do like Mickey in the series and all, but the whole jealous ex thing is really starting to get on my nerves. grrr…

Anyway. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Every Time We Touch**

Rose was mad. Well, not mad, as much as affectionately irritated. She was a little mad at John for being so hard on himself.

He had refrained from calling Rose for the past two days, which was saying a lot now that they had a see-talk-or-at-least-email-each-other-every-day schedule. She knew he probably felt guilty at what happened at dinner the other night.

Of course it wasn't his fault. Not really. Not anybody else's fault, either. Rose and Jake were both surprised at Mickey's strange behaviour, because he was usually a nice guy. Rose had practically known him since birth, and it wasn't like him to just blow up on anyone, stranger or not. Not once had he ever shouted with Rose, fought with her, or anything of the sort. He was usually so passive; he had always let Rose decide.

Still…John was being difficult. He was going into reclusion for something he shouldn't even feel guilty about. And besides, when John talked about her in that way, Rose was happy. Beyond happy. It made her feel like there was someone watching out for her.

She dialled his number, waiting until he would pick up…she sighed, as she wondered if he would let it go to the machine.

"Hello?" he answered, seeming preoccupied.

"Hello, John," Rose replied, relieved.

"Oh, hi, Rose," he started distantly. "How're things?"

"Oh," Rose answered, slightly confused at his business-like tone. Cheekily, she tried a differnt approach. "They're just _terrible_, John. Everything's going to bits."

"That's good," he seemed to be focusing more on whatever he was doing and then it seemed to sink in. "I'm sorry…what?"

"Just checking to see if you're going deaf," Rose retorted, cheekily. She was trying to coax him back to his old self.

She heard him sigh into the phone. "Oh, Rose. I'm sorry. There's just this thing that's been getting at me for a few weeks now. I'm almost there, but—okay. I've put it away. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say."

"Is it your research?" she asked him. She was beginning to get slightly curious as to what this 'research' was. It was too cryptic every time he would say it. She would always ask him, _'What are you doing?' _and he would always reply,_ 'Research._' Every time.

"Yep," he answered, and then quickly changed the subject. "So…how're things?"

His tone was different; Rose knew exactly what he had meant.

"I haven't talked to Mickey yet," she replied, sighing. "But it's all right. I know he's just going through a rough patch and all. He'll get over it."

"And…your dad?"

"He's fine. He really took a liking to you," she smiled. "Especially after the way you defended me like that."

"Well…" he started, his tone matter-of-factly. "I had to. I mean…well, don't be…'weirded' out, as they say, but you _are_ my best friend."

She smiled. "You know what?"

"Hm?"

"How long have we known each other?" she started, trying to hide a smile.

"A week and a day," he answered quickly. Rose smiled, the smile evident in her voice.

"I just have to say," she began, grinning. "You're my best friend, too."

"Really? Me?" he asked, sounding like an excited schoolgirl who just got asked out.

"No, silly, I was talking to the dog," she laughed. "Of course I was talking to you."

"Well, I can't say I was expecting that," he smiled, sort of confusing Rose. It was as if he was sharing an inside joke with himself. Then he continued quickly, a little bit nervously. "I mean—I was kinda thinking you'd be mad at me a little bit—I mean, I hoped you wouldn't be—and wait a minute, you have a dog?"

Rose smiled. "No. Dad's allergic. I do want one, though."

"Oh, well," John replied. "Maybe you can get one when you get a place of your own?"

"Yeah, maybe." Rose laughed a little.

There was a knock on the door, and Rose quickly got up.

"Oh," she started wistfully. "John, can I call you back? I've got someone at the door."

"Yeah, sure. But I'll be leaving for a while in about fifteen minutes. How about you come over later? Say seven?"

"Yeah," she replied, smiling. They said their goodbyes and hung up.

Rose walked over to the door, opening it.

"Mickey."

There was Mickey, standing at the door, his hands in his pockets.

"Hi, Rose," he started. "Can I come in?"

"Y-Yeah," she replied. "Come on in."

He walked in, going to the living room, and sitting down on the loveseat. Rose didn't know how to act. Was he all right, or was he in the same aggressive state he was in last night?

She decided to sit down on the couch across from him. She looked at him, expectantly.

"Rose…about last night," he started. "I'm sorry. About the whole thing the other day. I shouldn't gone off on you like that. And…that new fellow of yours. He's all right."

Rose blinked. "Oh. Th-thanks."

"It's just been hard, these last few weeks, you know? All this relationship business, losing you and making that mistake of going with Becky, losing my job—"

"Hold on," Rose interjected. "You lost your job?"

Mickey had worked at a toy company, in a small and new division that dealt with the business and new ideas.

"They've been talking about moving it out to America. Just the new division. About three people went. The rest…"

"Oh," Rose said sympathetically. "Mickey, I had no idea."

"S'all right, though," Mickey said dismissively. "I've been looking."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Rose placed her arm on his shoulder comfortingly. "I know what it's like. I'm looking too."

He looked up at her, meeting her eyes. "Rose, look. It's been hard, these last few weeks. Especially without you. I thought Becky would be better…but she wasn't. I still love you."

"Mickey—" Rose sighed.

"I know. You've got your John Smith. I've seen the way you two look at each other. And he's okay with me. It's just that day was when I lost my job and then I saw you together and I just got jealous. I'm sorry. But I still miss you as a friend." He gave a weak smile to her, letting her know he wouldn't get in the way of anything.

Not like there was nothing to get in the way _of. _Rose and John were only friends…right?

She hugged him. "Thank you, Mickey."

"Just promise me one thing, Rose?" Mickey asked. That was the Mickey she knew. Caring, sweet, shy…

"Yeah, Mic?"

"Be careful."

---

They talked for a while after that, Rose and Mickey, patching up (and saving) what was the start of a broken friendship.

Rose saw Mickey as a brother, more or less…She knew he would still be jealous of John, and John obviously didn't think too highly of him…it would be hard to try and end the rivalry, especially when she was right in the middle of it. Still, she hoped for the best.

She felt a lot happier, now that Mickey was back on her side. Still, she felt a little angry at him. Of course, compassion and sympathy fitted in there as well. She knew he had been going through a rough time, but some of that was his own fault.

She had bit her tongue to avoid further arguments when he said he was mad at how quickly Rose had gotten over him because in her mind, _she_ was thinking that he was such a hypocrite because his idea of getting over her was going out with another girl _days_ before the relationship even ended.

She had also bit her tongue when he mentioned the fact that there was a slight age difference between her and John. Of course, Rose would have retorted perhaps with slight anger and frustration in her tone that she and Mickey had almost the same gap as she and John did. He was five years older than her.

She also could have lost it when he said that John might be trying to take advantage of their close relationship, that _she_ had been sending mixed messages to John and that she was a tease. How could Mickey understand their open relationship?

Still…it wasn't like her to fuel the fire. Especially when things were going so well. She just wanted everyone to get along.

She did think about some of the things he said though. Especially when it came to her relationship with John.

Was she leading him on?

Or was she leading herself on?

She told herself over and over that it was just a small crush. She thought he was cute and that was that. Okay, he was…oh, what was that word? _Foxy_. It's only natural to think your best friend of the opposite sex was good-looking, right?

But as she thought about it, there was more to him that she liked. More than just liked. There were his eyes that lit up whenever they talked about the stars. The way that he would smile, that grin that made her feel like everything was okay. The way he would always make her laugh, how he would cheer her up. How he would defend her in a pinch, even though he knew her for little over a week.

"God, help me."

She was falling in love with him.

* * *

She had arrived at seven, just as he told her. Rose waited until John opened the door, and he welcomed her with that cheery grin. 

"Hi, Rose!" he greeted. "Long time no see!"

She stepped in, hugging him. Ever since realising her feelings for him, she could explain things a lot better. Like why her stomach felt so funny when she began to dial his number to tell him she was coming. Like why she was so nervous when she came to his door. Like just now, when hugging him sent tingles down her back.

"Yeah," she replied. "You too."

She grinned up at him, and he returned it, her heart doing a flip-flop.

"So, whatcha got planned for the night?" she asked, resting her coat on a nearby chair—as he told her was there for resting coats on.

"Well…" he began. "I remembered someone telling me that they've been wanting to see a certain film—"

He held up a rented movie, _Saw_. 1 and 2.

She hugged him. She had been dying to see them, she just never had the time or money. "Oh, you remembered! Thank you, thank you!"

He laughed at her, as he went to his T.V. and put it in the DVD player, sitting down next to her as he fiddled with the remotes.

They watched the films, though neither of them could tell the other what was really going on. Rose was watching as John squirmed in his seat. Her right hand and his left were intertwined, sandwiched between them.

"What's wrong?" she teased. "Don't like scary movies?"

"Well…" he started, his voice as low as he could make it. "Of course I do. I'm a man!" And then he added, in his normal tone. "Just not this gory."

"Oh, come on. It's just special effects and make-up," Rose tried to assure him.

"I know…still. Gives me the heebie-jeebies," he replied.

Rose sighed, scooting closer to him. She rested their hands on his leg as she leaned on him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"All better?" she asked, looking up at him without moving her head.

"Not quite."

Rose frowned. What could that mean? She decided she knew. She broke her hand away from his, holding his right hand instead with her left hand, bringing her left arm across as she curled up to him. She felt him sigh, brining his right arm around her shoulder.

"Much better," she heard him say, his voice low and almost in a growl.

She looked up at him, then, but his eyes were fixed on the movie.

She sighed, once again, looking back at the film, but not paying it any attention.

They sat like that for a long while, before Rose shifted a little, leaning her head on his chest .She could hear his heart beating rapidly.

She looked up at him, wondering if he felt the same as she did. She saw him staring holes at the T.V., but looking at her out of the corner of his eye. They gazes locked.

"John?" she half-whispered.

He turned to her, their faces inches apart. She saw him gulp.

"Y-yes, Rose?" his voice slightly higher than it was normally.

_Mickey's right. Maybe I am sending him mixed messages,_ she thought bitterly.

She leaned forward slightly, noticing how he was looking at her lips. She would let him initiate whatever it was. She knew that she didn't want to step over any boundaries.

He leaned forward, merely centimetres between them. She could feel his breath on her face, warm, as she looked up to his eyes.

And then, quickly, he turned away, coughing.

"I'm sorry," he said, continuing on coughing. "I don't know what it is…this damn cough. I'll be back in a second."

He detangled himself from her, running to a room and almost tripping over himself in the process.

Rose felt really guilty. Mickey was right. She _had_ been leading him on. They had almost…and then he suddenly rushed out of the room.

She stood up, walking over to the room where John went to, finding that the door was closed.

She knocked on it. "John?" she called.

Silence. "Look, I'm sorry. Really. I-it's my fault. I don't know what came over me, and I don't want you to think…I'll just get—"

"…Rose…" it was so urgent and so weak, Rose was very alarmed.

"John! Are you all right? John?" No response. She tested the door. It was unlocked.

"John, I'm coming in, all right?" Still no response.

She opened the door, seeing a small bathroom.

She screamed.

John was on the floor, seeming to have a seizure. Blood was gushing out his nose, and he was holding his head in pain.

"John!" she screamed.

* * *

A/N: As I said. I'd _try _not to give you much of a cliffie. But it was just too tempting :D Hope you like it. Please review! 

And have a great weekend:D This one's only seven pages long :(

Oh, and if anyone's wondering, I saw the Weakest Link Doctor Who Special and I felt so bad that David Tennant lost on Heebie-Jeebies. So I had to put that line in. I don't even like scary movies but I thought it was so cute that he did that...and in the Scottish accent too. :P


	6. How To Save A Life

**Partners in Time**

A/N: Wow! Thanks to everyone who reviewed again. I'd go through everyone and reply but it's dial-up and I'm not even really supposed to be on the internet :( but I've got a story to write! lol. Anyway. Again, thank you so much. I never thought I'd get so many reviews! I'd like to thank everyone at both and at Teaspoon for being great supporters. Without you guys I probably wouldn't continue (I don't think I've ever had enough motivation to finish a story.) Anyway. I'll stop rambling now and start writing! Woo!

* * *

**Chapter 6: How to Save A Life**

"John!" she screamed, rushing to his side, kneeling over him.

She took his hand, comforting him. He was no longer holding his head, as he seemed to fall unconscious, most likely from the pain, his eyes closed.

The blood from his nose was trickling down his face and forming a pool on the tile, one of the worst nosebleeds Rose had ever seen. It was starting to lessen, but not as much.

"Hold on, John," she whispered, caressing his hand absentmindedly as she used her free hand to reach for the tissues on the shelf above them, using them to try to soak up as much of the blood as she could.

She irrationally looked for a phone or something for a split second, before she cursed herself when she realized she was in a bathroom.

She dug into her pocket for her mobile, but she gasped when John clutched her wrist.

His eyes were open, locking onto hers, wild, irrational, scared, but completely lucid.

"Rose!" he gasped out, his grip on her arm tightening. "It's me. I don't know how much time I have left, but you've got to be careful—"

He hissed in pain, his eyes closing in pain, his head almost hitting the floor again, before he jerked it up again.

"You've got to listen to me. No, put your mobile down—I—" another hiss of pain. "This happens a lot—I don't need to go to the hospital. They'll come after us—"

Another hiss of pain, and he fell back into unconsciousness, his head falling back with a silent _thud._

She was crying now, tears running down her face and falling onto the floor, mixing with the pool of blood.

She didn't know what to do. Every part of her was screaming for her to call the hospital, but then there was a part of her that told her not to, because if she did something terrible would happen.

John was just hallucinating, right?

It was times like these she wished there was a Doctor with her.

She quickly pulled out her mobile and hurriedly dialled.

---

John woke up, slightly aware of the very warm and comforting weight on his side.

He looked down, seeing a mass of blond hair resting on his ribcage on his left side, the blonde's hand in his.

He smiled affectionately. Rose must've stayed with him the whole time.

As he thought more about it, he worried more. It had no doubt scared the life out of Rose to see him like that. And of course, he would have some explaining to do.

He wished so badly that Rose would wake up…and, as if she were telepathic, she stirred, shifting her whole body to face the other way.

"Hey," he whispered quietly, quietly enough for her to hear him if she was awake, and also low enough for her to continue sleeping if she weren't.

She opened her eyes, and he could tell she was awake immediately. She smiled, not moving and inch at all.

"Hey," she replied, her voice low. "How are you feeling?"

"Never better," he whispered back, grinning. "Why are we whispering?"

Rose smiled. She spoke, her voice not in a whisper, but still low. "Don't do that ever again. You really worried me."

It hit John right then and there why Rose looked so different. She had been using humour as a mask to cover up the pain and worry. Her eyes were red; he knew she had been crying.

"It's all right," he reassured her, looking into her eyes, while trying to keep his voice as calm and even as possible. "This sort of thing has been happening to me lately. The doctors say it's mostly stress—hence, the vacation—but I guess it's getting worse. I used to play a lot of rugby and got a lot of concussions. This is probably because of that—what?"

Rose had been giggling. He beamed. He had actually made up that last bit—just to have her laugh.

"_You,_ played _rugby?"_ she asked, incredulously, the worry and pain gone as they settled back into their old atmosphere.

John smiled. "Actually, er, no. My cousin did. And he, a few of his friends and I would generally play sometimes, just not for school or for a team—mind you, we weren't the best, but it was fun…"

His voice trailed off as he saw her expression. She was looking at him like she had been before any of this had happened…he blushed when he remembered the almost-kiss.

He had hoped for her to feel the same way. But, then again it may have just been friendly-affection in her eyes that he had misinterpreted. How could Rose ever like him beyond friendship?

She stifled a yawn. Of course she was tired. She fell asleep God-knew-when, and it was four a.m.

It could have been the fact that he had just suffered a concussion, or maybe his heart got the better of him. He scooted over in the bed, Rose looking at him. He patted the side.

"Come on. That can't be good for your back or your neck like that." he wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Come on…"

"But—" He knew she was going to argue.

"I'm fine, as the doctors have said. Just a slight concussion, which will be fine with a little rest. And believe me, you won't get in trouble for this. Now I don't see anything wrong with us getting some sleep, right?" he beamed at her, and he knew that the argument was already done.

She sighed, sitting and then laying down on the bed next to him.

He turned toward her, grinning. "There. Not so bad, is it?" he asked.

She was still filled with worry. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He smiled. "I am now." He half-joked. It was true that since Rose was here he did feel much better. Before when these things happened, he had been through it alone… He continued. "I'm fine now, and I will be. This has been happening for a long time, now. For the past couple of years. Apart from the nosebleed, which is relatively new—there's nothing different. This is just who I am."

"I know," Rose replied, looking wide into his eyes. She looked so adorable like that…now wasn't the time to be thinking like that. "It's just…you're—you're my best friend. If I lost you, I don't know what I would do."

He cupped her cheek with his hand. "Oh, Rose."

It was then that he realised how close they were. Sharing a bed. Close spaces. Tongues will wag. He was dimly aware that he was moving closer, and that she had closed her eyes in anticipation. His heart was pounding.

And he suddenly realised what he was doing. He kissed her forehead instead, instinctively. Rose quickly opened her eyes. His heart rate seemed to be going down a bit.

"Rose?" he asked, his voice slightly higher, their faces still very close. "I mean—everything has its own time, you know? I mean, usually for humans it's about eighty…although now with this generation it's changed to sixty-something…what with the chips and—"

He didn't know who did it first, or if it was just because of their close proximity, but suddenly his lips touched hers, lingering for a second, before he felt hers brush against his again. The soft and light kiss quickly turned more heated and passionate

They parted when the lack of oxygen was too much to take. Slightly panting, they looked at each other.

He felt guilty about what had just happened. He was pretty sure that _he_ was the one who initiated the kiss…did Rose feel like he was taking advantage of her? Maybe she only returned it because they were friends, and she didn't want to hurt him.

Unbeknownst to him, Rose was currently thinking the same thing. She had thought that _she _was the one who kissed him, and wondered if she was just coming off as a tease. Maybe he did like her, but just as a friend.

"I'm sorry," they both said in unison, and again they both misinterpreted the statement as a rejection from the other.

John was probably, for the first time in life, speechless. He knew that if not for the light being so dim, she would see his blush for sure. He was worried that she might leave.

"I think," she started. "We should probably get some rest."

With that, she turned on her side quickly. John wouldn't pursue her. Instead, he gently touched his lips, trying to take in what had just happened.

"Yeah," he replied, seeming faraway. He also turned, their backs to each other's, thinking about what had just happened, and why Rose was acting so weird. Perhaps she hadn't wanted it? Or maybe she still had feelings for Mickey, and…it was so confusing.

Women.

He thought more, until he eventually fell asleep.

* * *

"Careful…careful…watch your step." 

"Rose, I may have just been released from the hospital, but that doesn't mean I'm an invalid!"

"Sor-_ry_," she replied hotly, grinning devilishly. "Although I wasn't saying that's why you're staggering."

"I only had three drinks," he replied at her implication. "I am _not_ drunk."

It was the day after. Well, night, really. John had been released from the hospital earlier, saying he was fine. The doctor even suggested he might go out and celebrate, since alcohol was fine.

Which was exactly what they did. Celebrating health, and their newfound relationship. Well, sort of. They hadn't spoken about what happened at the hospital, and their once completely open relationship had now staggered to a halt, with only occasional hugs, each worried that the other would run away with fear if they displayed their feelings again. Not even the peck on the cheek.

"Oh, come on," she replied. "Weren't you the one who gets drunk on the fumes?"

"That was completely different!"

"What, was it alien whisky?" she grinned.

He turned his head away, smiling.

As they arrived at his flat, Rose stumbled, tripping over a slightly raised crack in the sidewalk. She caught herself before losing her balance.

"Now who's the drunk one?" quipped John.

"It was…you saw it! Completely not my fault."

He raised an eyebrow at her, slightly patronizing. "Mm-hmm."

"Oh, just open the door," she smiled, rolling her eyes.

He had been cryptic at the pub, telling her he wanted to 'show her something.' Rose wondered what it was, or if it was just a pick-up line. She grinned to herself.

He flicked on the light switch, eyeing the place. "Same as we left it!" he said proudly.

"You mean same mess as we left it?" she retorted. "What're you expecting, this place been broken into?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," he replied, seriously. Then, suddenly all energy, he grinned at her. "So, Miss Tyler, sit down right there." He pointed to the couch. "Care for a drink? Of course not. I don't think you need any more—"

"Oi!"

"Just wait a tick, let me show you. And cue the dramatic music."

He disappeared in his bedroom for a small second. Rose's mind started wandering to what had happened yesterday.

She felt horrible for taking advantage of him like that. Especially when she felt she was leading him on. She shouldn't have ever done that. She was feeling too guilty. Of course, Mickey was right. She loved John. More than she could have ever loved anyone.

But she had to clear a few things first. First, with Mickey. She wasn't sure he would remain friends with her if John and Rose did get together. Sure, he _said_ he would, be he wasn't exactly a man of his word when it came to his actions.

And of course, second. She had to make sure that John wanted this as much as she did. They were best friends, and she had to confess to him that she was unintentionally sending him mixed messages. She had to make sure he wanted to be more than friends.

And third, as clichéd as it sounded, it could ruin everything between them. She and John had such a wonderful friendship, and she didn't want to ruin it with anything that would come in between them. She couldn't let him go, not now, not ever. She didn't think she could live without him anymore.

Something caught her eye. A small book on the coffee table. Tan, blank on the cover, loose papers sticking out of it.

She was curious, picking it up, gently, examining the outside cover. On the back it had some swirls, done in pencil. It was a nice little sketch, which also showed her that John was an artist of some sorts.

She tentatively opened it a little. She closed it almost immediately, seeing the messy handwriting.

It was a journal, or at least something else just as personal, and she didn't want to pry.

John returned, drinks in hand. He eyeballed her with slight suspicion. "Did you notice that book on the table?"

"I—what? Oh, this tan one?" Rose asked innocently, pointing to the small book as if she had just noticed it was there.

"Oh, don't worry. I saw you picking it up. It's fine, I was just about to show it to you anyway. Curiosity—Rose, it's no big deal. Human Nature." he grinned at her red face.

"Anyway. I thought I'd like to show you this. It's sort of a dream journal…actually, not just dreams. Hallucinations as well. Every time I pass out, I seem to hallucinate. I try to write everything I remember—a project for psychology research—but it's too hard to remember every little detail. And of course, it just helps. I've been using these dreams to sort of write a series. Well, I don't know how it'll go. I mean, I started them in the form of fiction, but since I see them as pictures, I thought I'd make it into a T.V. show…tell me what you think."

He handed the book to her, beckoning for her to open it up.

She opened it at first in the first few pages, seeing messy handwriting and some drawings, before she quickly flipped back towards the cover.

She grinned at it, seeing the math about ages and lists of names. She turned until she saw the series title.

_Doctor Who_

_by J. Smith_

* * *

A/N: Lol. I loved that ending. Anyway. Sorry about yesterday. I had to go _back _to my school and pick up my schedule because they gave me the wrong one…from last year . Oi. I do _not_ wanna be a Freshman again. Anyway. I know this chapter is a bit holey. Sorry about that. Just wanted to give you guys a good one. Not as cliffy. Anyway. 

Please review, and in the words of the Daleks, "Predict! Predict!"


	7. Dirty Little Secret

**Partners in Time**

A/N: Thank you to all my people at FFN and Teaspoon again. You guys have been great. I don't think I've ever had a story go beyond 4 chapters without getting bored and putting it on hiatus. Seriously. I need to finish the rest…but after I finish PIT! It's my priority. :D

This chapter (or the one after) might get very T rated (for FFN anyway) I'm relatively new to Teaspoon, so I'm not sure if it would be categorized as PG-13. I'm horrible at Teaspoon's rating system.

Anyway. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Dirty Little Secret**

"So, where are you now?"

Rose gave him a mock-exasperated look, sighing as she continued reading, curling up to him.

It had been an uneventful weekend, since John's friend Dan's wedding was so close and John was out visiting old friends who were in town and such.

Rose and her dad had spent the weekend packing; Shireen and Mickey were the only ones they had seen, and that was only because they were picking up found items they had left at the house.

She had picked up the journal whenever she had a free minute--in the morning, before she went to bed, when she woke up from a bad dream, when her dad was out and in between breaks from packing. She had read most of his adventures of the man who John called the Doctor—at least, of his first incarnation. This confused Rose, because she had no idea what he meant.

She had to admit, turning this into a T.V. show seemed promising, but she had loved his in-depth descriptions, and she already had a vivid image of the Doctor and his granddaughter, Susan, as well as the two other human companions.

"Only about a page after you last asked," she replied, curtly, turning the page.

"And..?"

"My opinion hasn't changed…although if you keep asking, maybe it will." She kept reading, until she was stricken with sadness.

"Oh, that's so sad," Rose muttered.

John came to her side, looking over her shoulder, reading what she was reading.

"Oh, Susan," John said, sadness in his voice.

"Will she ever be able to come back?" Rose asked. She had really taken a liking to the girl. She felt that Susan reminded her of herself, and was a very relatable character, except far more the genius.

Susan clashed with her grandfather's apparent conservative ways, which Rose thought were traditional and old-fashioned until she learned that he had escaped his world Gallifrey when he didn't like what was happening. He wanted to explore.

"I don't think so," John answered, going back to his own work--a Sodoku puzzle. "I went over everything to make it sound plausible. Without a _huge_ plot hole, I don't think I—I mean, the Doctor—can ever get her back."

She turned the page, reading ahead, about the Doctor's death and regeneration. It sounded painful. She turned the page again as it was the end of series one.

"Oh, wow," she gasped. "I didn't know you could draw so well."

It was true. He had four faces, an elderly man with white hair, a pencil sketch with _The Doctor_ written under it. Next to the First Doctor was a young girl with short black hair who was very beautiful. _Susan._ Under the Doctor's picture was another man, older, about in his thirties. _Ian._ And next to it was another woman, about the same age. _Barbara._

On the page across from it was a drawing of the blue box, the TARDIS, and also…

"Pepper shakers?" Rose asked, curiously, raising an eyebrow. She turned to John, her heart skipping a beat. He was wearing his glasses. His Glasses. She didn't tell him—she would die from embarrassment, but she thought he looked incredibly sexy in them.

"No!" John protested. "They're Daleks. At least…the best I could do."

"Mm-hmm," she continued, grinning. "With a toilet plunger attached to them?"

"It's their laser thingy!" he argued.

"Okay, so let me get this straight," she started cheekily. "You want to make this…_fantastic_ piece of fiction to become a T.V. show where the evil people are pepper shakers with plungers for a laser, and you expect it to be a smash hit?"

He gave her a mock-glare, knowing that she was only teasing. "Just…read on."

"Tell me one thing, though, _Doctor._" she teased him. He had obviously set the main character after himself. Probably why he wanted to be called a doctor so badly.

"Yes, my cheeky companion?" he teased back.

"Is Barty Crouch Jr. gonna be the Doctor?" she smiled, poking her tongue between her teeth.

"Not yet. I figured he'd be a good Ten," John retorted.

She smiled, closing the book and rubbing her eyes. "I'd love to see that," she murmured, curling up to him once more.

Their close relationship returned; they had not spoken about the kiss at the hospital, merely pretended like it never happened for the other's sake.

"Find anything?" she asked, snuggling into him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

He frowned as he fiddled with the cable remote, scanning through the list of channels for movies. "Not really. Not anything scary."

"It doesn't have to be scary," Rose blushed at the memory of the almost-kiss. Is this what their relationship was now? Almost-kisses and kisses-not-spoken of?

"So, did you read Harry Potter?" he asked Rose curiously.

"Nah. I got it, but I haven't read farther than the first fifty pages or so. Yours was just too good."

"Better than Harry Potter?" he quipped. "I'm appalled and pleased at the same time. Well, thank you. I, on the other hand, have read and finished it all. It's sad. Made me cry when George lost…well, you'll see."

He stopped talking when Rose gave a half-glare, raising her eyebrows at the spoiler.

"Ah! Here we go! It's scary _and_ funny!" John turned his attention to the T.V.

"How is 'The Hills Have Eyes' funny?"

"Men wearing make-up?" he asked innocently.

Rose merely rolled her eyes as he clicked the remote, the movie starting on the T.V.

As Rose and John watched the movie, Rose cuddled more closely to him, in her usual position, her left arm draped across him, hugging his side while her right hand and his left were linked, sandwiched between them.

She loved the movie because it was _really_ scary. Scarier than Saw. She gripped John's right hand with her left hand and he brought his left hand up to her shoulder, rubbing it comfortingly. She saw the smile playing on his lips.

She sighed contently, watching the movie. She stifled a yawn, but knew that John caught it anyway, yawning after her rather loudly and tightened his hold on Rose.

It was a message saying that Rose wasn't going anywhere, and she was happy with that.

She continued watching the movie, and didn't even realise she had fallen asleep.

---

_She was running again, John gripping her hand tightly. At first she didn't know where they were but then realised that they were in a dark town, dark streets, only small streetlights lighting their way._

_She could feel her heart pounding, her breath heavy as she ran for her life. Something was behind them. A person, again._

_She looked to her partner. John, once again was wearing that brown pinstriped suit. And the Converse shoes. He was set on running forward, not looking at her at all, though his hand gripped hers more tightly._

_The blue box was in front of them. POLICE BOX. PULL TO OPEN…_

_She tripped, losing her balance. She screamed in pain as her knee hit the sidewalk, her hand slipping from his._

"_Doctor!" she shouted, but saw him enter the blue box, disappearing._

_The person was rounding on her, coming closer, and she wished she could just get up and run to the blue box for safety if not for her ankle._

_She cried, tears streaming down her face at her coming death. The person would surely come and hurt her and do God-knew what else before killing her._

_And finally, she felt as if she was flying. No, not flying. Carried. She looked up…and saw none other than John. In regular clothes this time._

_He was carrying her, the person behind them still following._

_He led her to an alleyway, hiding against the wall, and she saw the person go by, covered in black leather, their head covered with what looked like a biker helmet._

_He laid her down against the wall, examining her ankle, which was swollen._

_He said something to her which Rose couldn't hear. It was as if someone had turned the mute button on him._

_After this, he leaned toward her, cupping her cheek with his hand gently, pressing his lips to hers gently but with so much passion. _

_As he stood up she called his name, begging him to stay with her. She felt something small and metal in her hand, but as she pulled away from him, he held her chin high, not allowing her to look at it properly._

"_We can't," she found herself saying. "We'd only have to pretend."_

_John kissed her once again, this time on the forehead._

"_Maybe sometimes you have to pretend," John replied, before getting up and walking out of the alleyway. She saw him heading toward the blue box._

_The person who was following them was coming again, but as she shouted for John she knew that it was not him that the person was after._

_And suddenly she remembered the object that John had given her. She reached inside her pocket, but found it was filled with object after object, some that shouldn't be able to fit inside the seemingly small pocket. She saw the person approaching her and she screamed for John to help her—_

---

It was as if she was being held against her will as she thrashed about. "Rose!" he called desperately.

And finally, she opened her eyes.

She was breathing heavily, looking around, taking in her surroundings. John let out a sigh of relief as she hugged him tightly.

"It's all right, now, it's all right," he soothed her.

"It's just…it felt so real," Rose breathed. "I'm okay, though. I'm fine."

He wanted so badly to ask her what it was, to catch a glimpse of Rose's thoughts. And besides, it would help her, right?

"Bad dream?" he asked. "I heard you calling for me. Woke me up."

At this Rose blushed, smiling. She tried to avoid John's gaze. _Well there you have it. She dreams of snogging me too._ He grinned, but quickly hid it.

"It's not so scary anymore," Rose added. "It just seemed scary in the dream. Someone was after us."

"Well, that's understandable after watching those scary movies," John replied. "I sort of had a bad dream, too, if it makes you feel any better."

Rose blinked, looking up at him. "Really? About what?"

John had to hide a blush as he remembered the dream. How he ran. How Rose was there. How he let go of all his inhibitions and just kissed her senselessly, before she was taken away from him.

"Uh…well, it's gone now."

"Oh," Rose replied.

John got up, leaving Rose on the couch. He stuck out a hand to her. "Come on, I'll make breakfast."

Rose stopped as he started to walk to the kitchen, their linked hands pulling him back. "Breakfast?" she asked, alarmed. "What time is it?"

She gasped as she saw a clock. "How could we lose track of time like that? It's already eight? Dad's gonna kill me!"

"Oh," John said, letting go of her hand, dejected. He had really hoped Rose would stay. "Home, then?"

"No," Rose said, an idea hatching in her mind. "I'll just tell him I was at Shireen's. It's what I used to do when I'd stay at Mickey's—" she dug out her mobile, not seeing the shadow crossing on John's face.

"Hey, Shireen, it's Rose," Rose started, as John walked in the kitchen. Of course he didn't like Rose having to lie to her dad and everyone about staying with him; he didn't want to get her in trouble, or cause anything.

He got a few things out of the refrigerator, half-listening as Rose talked.

"…can you just…tell Dad I was over there?...No, I've been at John's house!" at this she sounded offended. Perhaps Shireen asked if she was at Mickey's? The mere thought made John's insides knot. "…No, nothing happened!...Shireen! I thought you knew me better?! All right, just tell Dad I was staying at your place, all right?..." A smile. "Goodbye Shireen." She laughed quietly as she got off the phone.

Walking in the kitchen, she beamed. "It worked. You're actually cooking?"

He returned the grin. "Yep." He popped the _p_.

"Hmm…" she seemed to ponder this, then again grinned. "My John Smith. Going domestic. What's the world coming to?"

John grinned, his heart leaping when she called him 'hers.' "An end, apparently."

"So…any plans for today? I thought maybe we'd go and watch another film or something—" John's grin faded, which she caught. It pained her to see him without his smile. Especially when he had to lie.

"Actually," he started. "I have a meeting today with a scholarship program for the university. It looks promising, and that's how I got by last year, for the most part."

"Oh," she looked down, then grinned, looking up at him. "Okay. So. What's for breakfast?"

* * *

It was the afternoon. Rose had walked in, with a mere 'you're grounded' from her dad for not telling him that she was going to stay at Shireen's. However, as he usually did, he caved within a few hours. 

She hummed as she packed for her hour. She had told herself that she would pack only an hour a day. It would be easy, and she could get a lot done.

Her dad went for his 'eight-hour-walk' as Rose called it. Rose remembered that it had been a long time since they had bought groceries, and there was not a lot of food in the house. She decided to go out to a café.

She walked down a bustling street, looking for a good café to sit down at. She was mindful about money, and also to look for a nice little one outside.

She sighed. She missed John so much. She felt as if she could see him everywhere as she walked. Holding her hand, laughing, talking with her. In the faces of the few people who smiled at her and said hi. In the café talking to a brunette who was laughing, and much more beautiful than her…

No, really. It _was_ him.

He didn't notice her. He was on the left, sitting at a window table, dressed nicely, with those _damn _sexy glasses on, talking. The girl on Rose's right had long flowing brown hair, in a flowery and gorgeous sundress. She looked about John's age, maybe a few years younger.

They were on a date.

John lied to her.

Her blood was boiling at the two thoughts. Of course, she had no real reason to be mad. Except for the fact that the man she loved was chatting up some tart, and had lied to Rose about his whereabouts.

She was mad. Maybe it would have been different if nothing had happened (no, Rose would still feel the pang of jealousy, just maybe wouldn't have acted on it). But he had…_kissed_ her, hadn't he?

Rose fumed.

_She _was the one who had become his best friend. _She _was the one who held his hand when they walked. _She _was the one who he held tight as the watched scary movies. _She _was the one who had stayed by his side as he collapsed. _She _was the one who stayed up all night for him…to fall asleep for a few minutes until he woke up. _She _was the one who he had kissed so passionately in the hospital bed. _She _was the one who's dad he met…and ex-boyfriend. _She _was the one who had spent the night with him, her in his arms. _She _was the one who he had given his journal, his most prized possession, to read. _She _was the one who had blindly fallen in love with him.

_She _was the one who he had lied to.

She watched, stopped dead in her tracks, as he put his hand over the mysterious brunette's. Rage bubbled within her.

Oh, what she wouldn't give to just go over there and knock that tart on her arse.

She didn't know why she did it; perhaps in an alternate reality, she would have cried her eyes out, and left it to that.

But she was Rose Tyler, and her mum and dad taught her better than that.

She watched as the girl got up, perhaps to go to the bathroom. It was her chance, and she took it.

Placing a fake smile, doing her best act, she walked up to him, taking the small chance when he looked down at his newspaper.

She sat on the chair where the girl occupied, acting as if she hadn't just seen the scene that played before her eyes.

The chair squeaked under her weight, and John looked up, expecting to see the girl. His expression fell when he realised it was Rose.

"Hi, John!" Rose put on her best smile.

Let the games begin.

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A/N: How did you like that? John the cheating type? Not that there's anything to cheat on, right? lol. What's gonna happen next? 

Please, predict.


	8. You Had Your Chance, You Blew It

**Partners in Time**

A/N: Thanks again for the reviews! I love ya'll! Oh, and I finished the Harry Potter book by the way a couple of days ago. Brilliant! Like the Doctor said…it made me cry a bit. There were two people that I loved that…well, you'll read. (although I am a Dramione fan) Anyway.

I'm not obsessed with Harry Potter, like you probably think I am. Well, not as much as I am with Doctor Who. :D

This chapter might not be as long as you'd like it to be. Well, there are reasons for that.

Anyway. Enjoy.

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**Chapter 8: You Had Your Chance, You Blew It**

"Hi, John!" Rose said as cheerily as she could muster.

"Oh…hi, Rose. What are you doing here?" Rose's heart sank, fuelling her suspicions further. Not the usual and energetic, '_Hi, Rose! How are you?_' But a '_Oh, hi. What are you doing here?_' with an accompanied look that resembled a kid with their hand caught in the cookie jar.

"Well, I was just walking down, looking for a nice little café, actually. Wasn't this the one we went to for lunch?" she asked, smashing the tears down the tears down with this great act. The fact that they had come here…John's idea…that hurt her the most right now.

John only nodded, afraid to speak.

"So…where's the scholarship guy?" Rose asked, innocently looking around.

John gulped, loudly. "I—uh, he cancelled. But he said that I might be able to reschedule."

"That's a good one," Rose said darkly.

John looked like a deer caught in the headlights, his eyes wide. "What?"

"Opportunity," Rose said, purposely gauging his reaction. "I wish I had gotten an opportunity like that."

He looked relieved, but still alarmed. "Oh, thanks."

"So, I was thinking. You know, maybe we could do something. Like that film I was talking about, you know—" she stopped, hearing the sound of high heels approaching.

And now came the hour of her best act.

She turned, innocently, looking at the brunette. She was even more stunning closer up than further away.

"John?" the brunette girl asked in a high and very annoying voice. "Who's _she?"_

"Oh, uh," John started, speechless. "Veronica, uh, th-_this_ is Rose. She's…she's…she's my—uh—"

"I'm an old friend of John's," Rose started, getting up and indicating for Veronica to sit down. "I-I'm in town for Dan's wedding, and well, I just thought I'd visit my old _best friend_."

"Oh, he's great, isn't he?" Veronica looked to John rather dreamily. But John only had eyes for Rose as he silently pleaded with his eyes. Rose looked him straight in the eye, even as she talked to Veronica.

"Yeah, he is. We used to do everything together. We were inseparable. And I used to think…well, I thought that we'd be friends forever. You know, when you're foolish like that. You know, I learned a lot from John. Things that, probably would have hurt me so much more if I he didn't teach me those things. He has a real habit of making things very clear, even though he doesn't say it."

The brunette was either too stupid or too dreamy-eyed to get the metaphors. However, Rose saw that each word she said was like a knife in the heart to John.

Tears were threatening to surface, as she looked directly into John's eyes. His eyes were pleading to forgive him, which she only returned with a cold and merciless glare. She turned to the two, a forced smile plastered on her face.

"It was nice to meet you. And John? Goodbye." With that, she spun on her heel, turning out of the restaurant.

She didn't dare cry. At least, not until she got home.

She sped past her dad, running to her room and flung herself onto the pillow. She cried for hours on her pillow.

* * *

It had been four days. Rose spent two of those days crying. The first day, she cried her eyes out for almost four hours. The second day she cried much less, only for about twenty minutes before she went to sleep. 

She spent the next two days busying herself with packing and being with her dad, Mickey and Shireen. She ignored every phone call from _him_, every visit he made she had her dad tell him that she was out.

They didn't know what had happened but they were still there for her.

Rose was now at home by herself and she had finished packing. For good.

Apart from the mess in her room¸ which she would pack right before she left.

She was laying on her bed, draped in the warm comforters, the radio blasting. She had read the journal frantically, as if there was an answer in there that she was missing.

She was now at Eight's regeneration. Into the Ninth Doctor. She laughed at the description of Nine, which only pained her further. The big ears, the leather jacket.

It was about the third or fourth episode that she found it.

Rose continued in the journal, reading the story. She gasped at the title of it.

'_Rose._'

It couldn't be…could it?

And yet it was. Nineteen year old Rose Tyler, who worked in a shop, who spent time with her boyfriend Mickey on break.

Mickey? Rose thought, her eyebrow raising. So John put in herself and Mickey. Together? Rose was touched how he put in her mum. Her mum, alive, in the life that he wanted. Rose would be…what, his next companion? A major character in this episode and that was it?

She continued, reading on for minutes, about how she was in the basement. About how she ran into the mannequins from the shop that came to life and were after her.

_She screamed, afraid for her life. She was trapped, with no where to go. And then suddenly, a hand gripped hers firmly, one that was accompanied with warmth and yet a solitary essence._

_She looked up and saw a man who looked twice the age of her clad in a leather jacket with big ears and a smile on his face._

"_Run!" he shouted, and they ran, hands linked together._

So what? Thought Rose. So what if he put me in here? I'll bet that he'll make _Veronica _his next companion. Just watch. And she wasn't even with him, either. She was with the Ninth incarnation of the Doctor, not the one he said he based himself off.

She continued reading, and laughed when she saw her mum hitting on the Doctor. Well, John had her pegged. That was Jackie Tyler, all right…

Rose continued reading about how she saved him.

About how he asked her to come, and she refused.

And, about how he asked her again.

_He didn't know why he did it. He never asked twice. Never. It was too much like begging, and the Doctor didn't beg. But there was something about her, something that made him want to ask again._

_And, if she had said no, maybe he'd ask for the third time, just once more, assuring himself that that was it. But, no, a part of his mind told him that he would keep asking, coming short of just dragging her aboard. _

"_Did I also mention it's a time machine?" he asked._

_He saw the look spread across her face, or perhaps it was already there. She took one more look at Mickey before running inside the TARDIS. It brightened him to no extent, her being there._

She read on for hours, reading through the End of the World, and the Unquiet Dead. She loved the Slitheen on Downing Street, and the episode Dalek was touching.

She laughed at the Doctor's apparent dislike for Mickey. Of Rose and the Doctor's close relationship, and of Mickey and Rose's distancing relationship.

She found it very amusing when the Doctor was particularly disliking of Adam on Satellite 5.

About his constant rivalry with Captain Jack Harkness. It wasn't as much about fighting the aliens as much anymore; rather, fighting the men that Rose seemed to be picking up, or tried to pick her up. It was quite amusing.

She loved the character of Captain Jack Harkness. He was just…so different from any other companion that the Doctor ever travelled with. So out there, and yet so comfortable to be around. Flirting with everything and anything.

She turned page after page through the two-series, 'Bad Wolf' loving it, and becoming so involved in it.

She cried when the Doctor sent Rose to the TARDIS in his last attempt to keep her safe. She knew that if _she _were really Rose, that she would try to find a way back, no matter what.

Which is what Rose did. She read about how she turned into the Bad Wolf in 'Parting of the Ways.' Of course, it was set to the Doctor's point of view, third person. Rose didn't know how far the Rose in the story went.

_She looked so beautiful…and yet, he knew, it hurt her so much. He saw tears streaking down her face. _

"_Come here," he coaxed. "I think you need a Doctor."_

_He brought her close to him. Telling himself that it was for the purpose of a genetic transfer, and nothing else, he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softy. _

_Of course, just by being so close to her, they would have left her. But she didn't need to know that..._

She was happy. At least the Doctor and Rose were all right. Was Jack going to come back? And the Doctor kissed her? Did that mean something?

"_See, Time Lords have this little trick. It's a sort of way of cheating death. Except…it means I'm gonna change. And it means you're not gonna see me again. Not like this. Not with this daft old face."_

"No," Rose pleaded with the journal, wishing he didn't have to do this. She was starting to like this Doctor so much… "Don't say that."

"_Don't say that!" said the Rose in the story. She was in tears now._

"_Rose! Before I go, I just wanna tell you: you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And you know what? So was I!"_

_And every cell of his body exploded. The pain was unbearable at first, then, as all the cells moulded to another shape, the pain receded. His last thought as Nine and his first thought as Ten was: I'm doing this for Rose. She's safe. And alive. And that's all that matters._

_He grinned, not knowing what he looked like. He felt lighter, skinnier, and a lot more energetic. "Hello!" he greeted the beautiful blonde. The one that saved his life time and time again. "Oka—" he grimaced as his tongue hit different teeth, ones that were different shapes, more square. Younger? He felt them with his tongue. "New teeth…that's weird. So, where was I? Ah, yes! Barcelona!"_

Rose stopped, a tear forming in her eye. John was such a great writer. She missed him so much.

Why had he done that to her?

She closed the journal. What had that meant? Rose was a big part of his life, and he _based_ a character off of her.

Opening the journal once more, she turned the page to see the drawings that came after every regeneration.

_The Doctor. Nine. Ol' Big Ears. _Rose laughed. Next to the face of Nine was her. _Her. _The _real _Rose Tyler, a perfect sketch. _'Beautiful Rose Tyler. He Could Save the World, Yet Lose Her. The Bad Wolf.' _Under the Doctor was Mickey Smith. Not _her_ Mickey Smith, the one in real life, but one with dark skin, and a bigger nose. He looked so different. And Jackie Tyler. She looked so much like Rose. Of course, he had seen her picture.

She cried. Again. _He could save the world yet lose her_.

She wept for a particular passage, which she couldn't help but reading many times.

_He realised what it was. She had saved him. He had been so depressed, so forlorn after losing all of his people. He could go into a pit of Daleks and have died, and not have cared. _

_But upon meeting her, it changed. Rose changed him. She brightened up his hearts. She was so full of compassion, so full of courage, and it for her that made him keep on living. It was her that made him want to live._

_He was falling in love with a human girl. And he loved that fact._

Rose stopped. Did John really feel that way about her? The Doctor had never thought about companions that way. Never showed a sign of love for any of them. Affection, yes. Friendly affection. But _he_ was falling in love with _Rose._

She got up, turning off the radio and headed toward the door, the journal clutched in her hand.

She knew what she should do, and she was going to do it. No matter how hard it would be. Or how much it probably would hurt her in the end.

She got dressed, taking her coat and heading out into the night. She wandered around until she reached a familiar flat.

She paused, before knocking soundly on the door.

John opened it, looking at her in both worry, guilt, and relief. She fought the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Rose…I—" he started.

"Before you say anything, I just came here to…" she paused, looking at the journal. "Here. Take this."

She thrust it into his arms. He looked at her, confused.

She turned on her heel, holding her head high, and walked away onto the streets again.

* * *

A/N: Not the best chapter. I hope you like it. It's _very_ angsty, but don't worry. :D Anyway. Hope you like it (wait didn't I say that already?) As usual, weekends are bad for me. I probably won't start updating again until Monday or Tuesday. Happy weekend! 

Predictions? I haven't got any :D


	9. More Than Words

**Partners in Time**

A/N: Yay! I get to see Simpson's movie on Fri (that's today as I'm typing this :D) I hope it's good. Today has not been going well with my computer, and then my radio went out, so I have no music…;( so bear with me if it is choppy. I'll try to save it as often as I can, but I've learnt that you can't trust Microsoft Word :( I'll stop ranting.

This is probably my favourite chappie thus far. I hope you like it :D

Anyway. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 9: More Than Words**

She turned away from him, holding her head high.

She wouldn't dare look back; looking back would mean her surrender, and she was _not_ giving in, no matter how much it hurt her.

Her eyes were brimming with tears, threatening to fall.

She was already at the head of the stairs, half-expecting and wholly wanting him to come after her and put his arms around her, apologizing a million times.

But he didn't, which only made her mad.

She had been _used_. She was worried about _her_ being a tease, making him like her, and then pulling away. But in fact it was _her_ that was being used. He had made her fall in love with her, had shown her what could've been, and then practically blew her off by going with another girl.

And he didn't care. She wasn't the only one. He had made her feel like the only one, the one who he defended, the one who held his hand…and he could've slapped her in the face.

"Rose." It was a plea, so weak and desperate that Rose thought for a mad moment that he had collapsed again.

She stopped dead, the tears coming so close to spilling over.

"Please," he begged, not moving an inch, his voice so quiet and in almost a whisper. "I shouldn't've lied to you. But if you knew who she was–"

Wrong thing to say. Rose didn't want to hear any more of it. "I don't care anymore, John. This friendship is putting too much strain on my heart. You can date whoever you like. I won't get in the way." She said this so coldly, her voice even.

She walked, continuing toward the stairs when John grabbed her arm, his fingers wrapping around her forearm loosely.

"Let go of me!" she shouted. _"Let go of me!"_

_Slap!_

He held a hand to his cheek, a red spot forming. Rose felt guilty immediately.

"I-I'm sorry," Rose said, not looking up at him. "I shouldn't've done that."

"No," John replied, looking at her, giving a weak smile. "I deserved that."

_This is childish,_ Rose thought. _This whole thing…it's not like we're even together._

She closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his waist. He froze, but returned the embrace.

They made no movement, holding each other, Rose's steady stream of silent tears receding. She looked up at him, seeing him looking back at her, something glowing in his eyes.

"Don't cry. My Rose." He wiped the last tear from her face with his thumb, sending chills down her spine in the process.

She wanted to continue being angry at him…she tried as hard as she could. But being around him sent her head reeling.

"Hey! Some of us are trying to sleep if you don't mind!" shouted an irate neighbour from the floor below.

John smiled at her, his arms which were rubbing her upper arms comfortingly dropped to her hold her hands.

"Please come in?" he asked. "I promise I'll explain everything."

She nodded, grasping his hand and following him. He walked into the living room, sitting on the light brown sofa, waiting for her. She knew what he was doing; she could either sit next to him, or away from him. Her choice.

She decided to sit on the brown sofa, but leaving a cushion-space between them.

"I'm listening," she said.

"Okay." He started. "First off."

He took her hands in his, holding them over the empty space between them, looking into her eyes.

"Rose. I am _so_ sorry for lying to you. I will never _ever_ do that again, and I promise I will tell you everything and anything you want to know, and never keep anything from you. And, Rose Tyler, I promise to not go swanning off with any girl, human or not–" this got a small smile from her, "–or do anything that looks like it."

She gave him a small smile. "Apology accepted."

He let of her hands, facing her on the sofa. "That girl I was with? We weren't on a date."

"Oh." She felt dumb, now. "The scholarship?"

"No. There was no scholarship meeting. Though there really is one coming up, but that's in a week or so. And I promise I'll take you with me if you want. That girl was my girlfriend."

"Oh." she couldn't help the slight face she made.

He suddenly realised what he had just said. "Oh, no, no! When I say she was my girlfriend, I mean she was my girlfriend. My ex-girlfriend."

"Ronnie?" Rose asked.

He nodded.

"What did she want?" she asked.

"Actually, we were talking about you."

_John walked into Café Milan, dreading this meeting. However, it was one that needed to be done.  
He saw the beautiful brunette, saw her in a lovely summer dress._

She didn't look at all like someone who had just got out of jail for assaulting three men.

He sat down on the chair, eliciting a smile from her. Businesslike and deviant all in one. A Lex Luthor smile.

"Let's just get this over with," John said, cutting to the formalities. "I know you sent the letter to Rose."

"John, I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Ronnie defended herself with a fake sweet voice. "Who's Rose?"

"Ronnie. Stop it. This isn't funny, or anything. You've ruined my past three relationships. If you do it again or come anywhere near Rose, I will put a restraining order on you."

Ronnie laughed, a malicious laugh. She patted John's hand patronizingly, her voice demeaning. "I never thought I'd see the day when John Smith grew a backbone! Tell me, John, what's got you so worked up about this girl? She's so young…tell me, is she your best friend? Or your companion?"

She laughed again, throwing her head back, her hair tossing.

John remained silent.

Ronnie looked at him, patronizingly, in mock-pity. "Oh, I see. You've fallen for this girl, haven't you?"

John grasped her hand tightly. "Don't go anywhere near her."

"I won't have to," she said sweetly, and John was confused.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"My, my, my. It seems the girl of your dreams is watching us as we speak. Wonder what she's thinking about seeing you with another woman?" She laughed again, lightly.

She patted his hand, appearing to get up. "Well, John-boy. I'll leave you two kids alone. You have some catching up to do."

She grasped her handbag, walking toward the bathroom. Of course, John knew she was watching.

He looked out the window. Rose wasn't there. He let out a breath, calling her bluff.

She heard the chair squeak, and smiled. He knew her tricks, and wouldn't give in. He turned toward her to tell her it didn't work.

His heart sank at the blonde sitting across from him. The innocent smile she gave him was like a dagger in his heart.

"Hi, John!" she greeted him.

Any moment, Ronnie was going to come. He had no idea what was going to happen.

"Oh…hi, Rose," he gulped, worried Ronnie was going to come and maybe hurt her… "What are you doing here?"

He saw her smile falter. He wished he hadn't said that. Maybe he could make a run for it. Maybe he could grab her hand, and run to the movies or something with her. Anything.

"Well, I was just walking down, looking for a nice little café. Wasn't this the one we went to for lunch?" Rose asked. His heart sank. He could have been stabbed through the heart. Ronnie had taken him where he went with Rose on their second 'date.'

John couldn't say anything, for fear he'd have a nervous breakdown.

"So…where's the scholarship guy?"

Oh, God. I pray to you. I know I'm not really a religious man, but if you are there you'd help me out here…Give me the divine ability to get out of this alive…

"He, uh–well, he cancelled."

"That's a good one," she said darkly. Had Ronnie called her? Told here he was here with another woman…?

"What?"

"Opportunity," he let out a breath as she continued.

He didn't hear what she said next, as his excellent hearing picked up Ronnie's cue, hearing her high heels click-clacking on the floor.

Rose turned. Oh, my god.

And now came the hour of his best act.

"John?" Ronnie asked, her voice completely fake as she acted like a dumb brunette. "Who's she?"

"Oh," he tried to get Rose's attention, to silently tell her to follow the act, that it was an act, and not to listen to anything. Rose didn't turn. Instead, her gaze was fixed upon Ronnie. "Veronica, th-this is, uh, Rose. She's-she's-she's my–uh–"

"I'm an old friend of John's," Rose said, standing up for Ronnie to resume her seat.No, no, no. No, nononononononononononono! John thought, trying again to meet her gaze. "I'm in town for Dan's wedding, and I just thought I'd see my old best friend."

She met his gaze, finally, but he wasn't able to get through to her. She had already decided she knew what was going on…this wasn't supposed to happen.

"He's great, isn't he?" Ronnie purred, looking at John with such a dreamy face he thought he was going to get sick on the spot.

John fixed his gaze on Rose, trying to find his voice, trying to explain what was going on. But he was so horrified at the scene playing out before him that his vocal cords almost literally froze.

The next words from Rose shocked him, horrifying him.

"Yeah, he is. We used to do everything together. We were inseparable. And I used to think…well, I thought that we'd be friends forever. You know, when you're foolish like that. You know, I learned a lot from John. Things that, probably would have hurt me so much more if I he didn't teach me those things. He has a real habit of making things very clear, even though he doesn't say it."

Oh, he got the metaphors all right. His heart was in pieces now. And he knew that those little pieces were turning to dust. He glanced at Ronnie, who behind the act, he saw, was looking at him rather amused.

Please, Rose, he silently begged her as they locked eyes again. It's not what it is, really.

"It was nice to meet you, Veronica. And John? Goodbye."

He watched her turn to leave. He was silent for a long time, and he wanted to go after her and explain everything. He wanted to hold her close to him and make it all better.

But he was glued to his chair it seemed. He could only look at Ronnie, who was smiling, looking amused.

"Well, well, well," Ronnie smiled. "So much for John Smith, the Oncoming Storm."

Something seemed to snap in him. He grasped Ronnie's wrist with a crushing force. She leaned forward in her chair, lifted up by the pain. Her face twisted in pain. He leaned close to her, snarling in her face.

"Listen to me. I want you to stay away from us. Leave us alone or I will call the police, have a restraining order and show them all of the other threatening letters. If you go near Rose, if you so much touch a hair on her head, I will show just what the Oncoming Storm is. And Ronnie, believe me, this isn't a threat. It's a promise."

He let of Ronnie's arm, and she landed back on her chair hard.

He started to gather his things, standing up and putting a small amount of money on the table.

"You have no idea what you're up against," Ronnie said, her voice unusually low, a malevolent smile on her face. "There a forces much worse than I who will stop at nothing to separate you two. You would do well to heed my warning."

"Bite me," it was all he could think of.

"I had no idea," Rose said, after listening to his story. She was shocked, but pleasantly. She had a picture of who Ronnie was, now, and understood where he was coming from.  
She threw her arms around him, hugging him, allowing him to hold her. She missed this, the warmth of him, the comfort and the safe feeling of being in his arms.

"I thought you–" she started.

"I know."

"But you didn't."

"I don't think I ever could. Not after meeting you."

She looked up at his outburst, wondering what he meant.

"What, you mean I chased you to celibacy?" she asked, cheekily.

"Well, that all depends on you."

She was startled. What had made him say this? She settled back into him, not sure what to say.

"Ronnie was right about one thing," he started, stroking her hair with one hand, rubbing her upper arm with his other. "I've got to get a backbone. I mean, before when I went out with other girls, I just...let them go. But with you, it's so much different. I'm willing to fight for you, you know?"

"But we aren't…" Rose started, trailing off.

"I know. And I think that's why it's so different. I've never had a relationship like this, you know? It's like you're my best friend, but you're so much more. I mean, all those other girls, I could've fought for them to stay. I wanted to. But…I want you, more than I've wanted any other woman."

She froze, her heart jumping a beat or two. She looked up at him, searching his face with her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't've said that. I opened my trap again. Was that rude? I don't want to be rude. I understand, you want to be friends, and I can live with that, I promise. I won't do anything you don't want to, please don't–"

"Shut up," Rose said, grabbing him by the collar and closing the distance between them.

The kiss was not unlike the one at the hospital that they had shared only a few days before. They pressed their lips against each other, brushing them lightly, once, twice, before letting go of all their feelings.

They changed positions, Rose turning her body toward him, not breaking contact at all, her legs draped against his, still both in sitting position. He put an arm around her waist, his other hand holding her head. She put her arms around his neck, running a hand through his hair.

The kiss turned more heated as he slipped his tongue through her parted lips, slowly and torturously exploring before finding hers. They tumbled back, Rose falling on the cushions of the couch, with him over her, clasping her hands in his over their heads as they sank into the cushions.

She bit his lip before he left her mouth. He moved to leave little butterfly kisses on her jawbone, her eyelids fluttering in ecstasy as he continued to move down, kissing her neck.

"Mm…John," she groaned.

The atmosphere changed as his body was poised directly over hers, his hands moving from hers and slipping under the fabric of her shirt, raising it up as she allowed him to pull it over her head.

She broke off the kiss, gently pushing him off of her. He broke apart from her, looking into her eyes with so much love and passion in his eyes, which were only reflected.

"Not here," she said, looking up at him, looking so beautiful with her golden hair swirling around her, her skin flushed.

He got up, in confusion, letting her go as she sat up, getting off of the couch.

She kissed him once more, and she got up, leading him to a room. His bedroom.

He looked back up to her, his forehead resting on hers. "Are you sure?"

She bit her lip, nodding, her eyes sparkling. She pulled him close to her, again closing the distance between them, before pulling him down with her on the bed.

A/N: So how was that? In the words of the Daleks: "Predict! Predict!"


	10. D'Yer Mak'er You Don't Have To Go

**Partners in Time**

I know it's been forever since I updated (almost a week!) and I'm sorry. So sorry. But, as promised, here it is!

Well, thanks to a reviewer (I'm not gonna say who because it'd give away a scene) for inspiring a little scene. Hope you guys like it!

* * *

**Chapter 10: D'Yer Mak'er (You Don't Have to Go)**

Rose awoke to a pleasant warmth all around her, feeling safer than she had ever been before. A soft thumping soothed her, a steady beat. A heart beat.

Over the past week she had been adjusting to waking up in John's arms. Every night she stayed over at his house, whether it be to curl up in his arms on the sofa watching a movie, sleep next to him in the bed with his arms wrapped securely around her, or for…other things.

She was adjusting, but to say that she was getting used to it was something untrue. She would never get used to it.

One of her hands lay out on the bed, her other hand resting on his chest as her head rested over his heart. His arm was around her waist, his hand resting on her bare back.

She lightly drummed on her chest, barely touching the skin.

"Morning, sleepyhead," he greeted, his voice low but without any grogginess as his hand lightly caressed her back.

She picked up her head, not moving her body. She looked up at him, seeing his other arm behind the pillow. She met his gaze, and they smiled at each other.

"Hey," she replied, lightly kissing him, before laying her head on his chest once more.

"You know, you snore," he teased.

"Do not…do I?" she asked. She heard him smile.

"Yeah. And with your mouth open, too. I was worried you'd drool on me," he retorted.

She giggled, swatting him lazily with the hand on his chest.

A comfortable silence fell over the two. "So, how long were you up before me?"

She heard him suck air through his teeth. "Well…I don't usually count these things. But if I had to? I'd say…thirty-seven minutes and seventeen seconds. About."

She smiled as she continued listening to his steady heartbeat. She was getting accustomed to him waking up before her, watching her sleep. He never slept that long, for five hours, seven at the most.

"So, what time is it?" she asked.

"Still a bit early," he replied, lightly drumming on her back. "7:23."

Another small pause as she drifted away with the rhythm of his breathing, her head rising and falling with him. She shifted her position, scooting up the bed and resting on a pillow, facing him.

"Well…I suppose we have to get up," John started, sort of musing.

"Yes, I suppose," she replied, though neither made an effort until John's stomach growled.

Rose, now lying next to him, with her head resting on her hand, elbow propped up on the bed, looked at him, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

He shrugged innocently. "Can't argue with the Refrigerator."

She giggled, smiling with him.

He looked at her, watching her with so much unspoken love in his eyes.

"Well," he started. "I guess we better get going."

He started to pull back, until Rose put her arms around his neck, snogging away any thoughts of leaving.

He rolled over her to get a better angle, preparing to relive the acts of the night before.

And they both toppled over the edge of the bed, falling rather loudly on the floor.

Both laughed, John starting to get up and helping Rose up, before getting dressed and making their way to the kitchen.

-

"Shireen? It's Rose." She spoke into the phone, holding it between her shoulder and her ear while rinsing the dishes. John was helping her, though there was only one left, the one in Rose's hand.

"…really? Well, I was just wondering…yes, I know it's a bit early for me–well, if you must know I'm at John's again…not now, Shireen…And, well, can you just tell Dad something?...What? I can't…Shireen, can you tell Dad…Shireen? …Shireen I can't hear you…Just tell Dad I'm at your place…Shireen?"

She looked at her mobile, hearing a faint click. Call Ended. Rose sighed in frustration, tossing the mobile loudly on the countertop.

"You know…you could just tell them."

Rose sighed. "I know. I should…it's just, Dad, and Mickey, I dunno. Dad would kill me."

He walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, pressing a light kiss to her hair. "You should tell them the truth. They should know, and besides, they'll find out eventually anyway." He stopped, turning his head sideways to face her, although she only saw him out of the corner of her eye. "I'm sorry, I was being rude again. It's not my place to say."

"No, it's fine," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "I mean, you're right. We've been together a week, now…I dunno. I'll tell him soon enough. He'd think I've been out with you all night and get the wrong impression."

He held her closer to him, his arms tightening around her waist as he began to kiss his way down her neck.

"Oh, but it wouldn't be the wrong impression," he growled, as she giggled.

"Stop it," she said, not really meaning it. "You're gonna put a hole in my left side."

"You're right," he said mischievously. "So maybe I should do the other side, too. Make it a bit symmetrical."

He switched from her left side, trailing kisses down the right side of her neck, holding her while she laughed.

His leg slid between hers, involuntary, at least not consciously, as his hips grinded against hers.

She turned in his arms, linking her arms around his neck, kissing him as he pushed her against the kitchen counter.

His hands slid under the shirt of his which she was in, which covered her as an oversized shirt. She ran a hand through his hair, their lips brushing over each other again and again.

And her mobile rang.

She broke off the kiss, reluctantly, feeling him bite her lip before she did as a silent plea to just forget about the phone and continue.

She turned, reaching for the phone.

"Hello?" she answered, then lowered her voice so only John could hear. "It's Shireen."

He rolled his eyes, sulking off to the living room. She gave a small laugh, before trying to listen to Shireen.

Of course, all she could hear was static. Shireen's mobile must have had very bad reception, wherever she was. Rose could only hear Shireen's voice a little bit, breaking up.

Again, the phone clicked off, and Rose continued to hold the phone in her hand, sighing in frustration, walking toward the living room, where John was watching cartoons on the T.V.

He saw her out of the corner of his eye, looking up at her expectantly.

"That was Shireen. I, uh, I think I should go back home," she said, wistfully.

He nodded, reluctantly, watching as she walked away, toward the bedroom to pick up her clothes that were lying on the floor, discarded from the previous night.

After her shower, she waited until he took his, getting dressed and ready, then calling her dad, telling him she was over at Shireen's.

After he got dressed, they stepped out, toward her flat, hand in hand. They talked about everything and anything, John currently telling her about string theory, at least initially.

"…so, he went off to the village, telling me to look after the car." He paused, as they walked up the sidewalk toward Rose's flat. "And there I was, sitting there, babysitting a car on the edge of a steep cliff on the bank of the river, when it occurs to me he left the engine on. I reach in there with one hand, trying to pull the keys out, and my watch gets jammed on the drive stick. So, clever me, I'm pulling at it, at least, until I bumped the stick into Drive. So, there I am, walking alongside the moving car, trying to get my watch out of the drive stick, the edge of the cliff coming up closer and closer."

She laughed, as they walked. "So what did you do?"

"Stuck my other hand in there! Not a very good position, very awkward." He crossed his arms as he continued, miming the action. Indeed, it looked a bit painful. "So the car's going faster, and I'm thinking 'this is it.' And then finally! My hand is freed from the watch, and I jump out of the car as fast as I could. And my only thought was 'I lost my watch!'"

"Well, at least you made it!" Rose laughed, as they walked up the last flight of stairs, toward the door.

She fiddled with the keys, finally getting it right and opening the door as he continued. "I know, nearly took off thumb. And I like my thumb. I need my thumb. I'm quite attached to…my thumb."

He trailed off, looking at the people in the living room.

Her dad and Shireen, in the living room. Jake glaring at the two, while Shireen had her head down, looking guilty.

"I'm sorry, Rose–" started Shireen, but Jake cut her off.

"Shireen came a bit earlier to see if you wanted to do some shopping for school. She was here when you called and told me you were at her house. Care to explain that?"

"I–I…" Rose started, words lost.

"You know when Shireen came looking for you, we got worried? We thought maybe you were supposed to go to Shireen's last night and you might've run into someone on the way…maybe someone kidnapped you…you could've been dead! We called everyone since you weren't answering your mobile! Everyone's worried sick about you! And you call and just come over all happy-go-lucky–"

"I'm sorry–" she started.

"Sorry! Sorry! She says she's sorry! After you put me through that again!" he shouted, waving his arms about.

"It's really my fault," John interceded, taking a step forward. "I'm sorry. Terribly sorry–"

"And who are you to talk? First you're telling me there's nothing going on between the two of you, and now look at you; you're out there shagging my daughter while I'm thinking I've got another family member to bury!"

"Oh, here we go, that's why I don't do domestic," muttered John under his breath, throwing his hands up in defeat.

"Was it worth it, Rose?" Jake asked, glaring. She could tell he was having a hard time keeping his temper in check. "Was shagging him really worth upsetting everyone? Putting me through the same thing I went through with your mother?"

"Please, Jake–Mr. Tyler–sir," John started, putting his hands up in defence. "I really didn't mean this all to–Rose shouldn't be the one to be blamed–it's all my fault–"

"You're bloody right about that!" he shouted, just as Mickey came in from the kitchen, holding an armful of food.

"What's all the shoutin' about?" he asked, at the precise moment Jake punched John in the face.

Mickey's eyes grew wide, looking at John on the floor, who holding his nose with the palm of his hand, and Rose saw a small trickle of blood smeared on the hand.

"Get the hell outta my house!" shouted Jake, with a hint of remorse in his tone.

She was reminded of the night she found him on the floor, and immediately guilt, anger, and compassion flooded into her as she rushed over toward him.

She removed his hand from his nose, seeing a small pool of blood.

"Oh, my god," she said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he mumbled so only she could hear. "Hell of a right hook!"

She met his eyes, worried, and he looked back at her, his eyes full of guilt.

"I'll just get going, then. Mr. Tyler, it was nice seeing you again," he stood up, pressing his palm to his bleeding nose again. He walked toward the front door, Rose following him and preparing to leave with him.

"No, Rose," he said, putting his other hand up in protest. "You need to stay here. Just…give it some time. I'll be all right, I promise."

He leaned forward, to kiss her goodbye, but paused before he even started to lean down. To anyone else it looked like he had moved his head forward, and that was it, but Rose knew. She saw his eyes flicker quickly from her father, Mickey, and Shireen, then back to her in an instant.

John was doing a very good job holding in his temper.

"I'll see you around, Rose. You know where I'll be."

"Bye, John," she whispered, watching him leave, tears in her eyes.

After the door shut behind him, she reeled on her father.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she shouted.

"What am I doing?" Jake shouted back, and Shireen and Mickey graciously backed out of the room into the kitchen, giving them privacy (though not much, seeing as how their shouting match could be heard throughout the entire flat).

His voice only seemed to grow louder. "What am I doing? What're you doing, staying with some guy who's seven years older than you, first you're telling me you're just friends and now you guys are doing God knows what in the middle of the night!"

"Dad–"

"And how long have you known him, Rose? Two weeks? Two and a half weeks? You barely even know him and you're already shagging him! You don't know what he's really like! He could be dangerous, you know! He could be some serial killer who likes to pick up blond girls and do away with them!"

"He's not!" Rose shouted, the tears threatening to fall. "I know him and he's not like that!"

"Rose, I don't want you hanging around him and that's final. No ifs, ands or buts," he said sternly.

"Why?" Rose challenged. "Why is it that you've never seemed to have a problem with anyone I was seeing until now? I was with Mickey, you know that! I'd stay over for nights and–"

"Mickey wasn't a stranger! He wasn't just some bloke you met on a blind date!" her dad shouted back. "And after what I went through with your mum, I'd rather not have my last family member getting in danger with somebody she just met! I mean, after your mum died–"

"What do you care about mum?" she shrieked back, now angrier than ever. "You took down the only pictures of her! It's like she never existed!"

His face fell, his jaw set, his eyes glaring. He spoke through his teeth, and Rose could tell he was especially angry. "Go to your room."

Rose held his gaze for a second longer, challenging, before walking away. She passed the kitchen, seeing Mickey and Shireen talking.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this," she said.

Shireen walked up to her and enveloped her in a tight hug. "It's all right, Rosie." She said, using the nickname that Shireen would call Rose when they were only kids.

"I'm sorry, Rose," Mickey said, hugging her as well. "If you ever need anything–"

"Thanks, Mick, but I think we'll be all right. Me and Dad just need some time to cool off, yeah? Just give it some time."

"All right, well, we better be going off, then," Shireen said to Mickey, nudging him with her elbow. "You know we got that thing to do?"

"Right," Mickey nodded, playing along. "That thing."

Mickey left the kitchen, Shireen following him. She turned back and whispered in Rose's ear, "I don't care what anybody says. You hold onto that guy for a long while, ya hear?"

Rose smiled, nodding, and watched Shireen turn to go.

-

After spending an hour in her room, locking herself up and deciding she talked to no one, Rose heard the door to her room opening, her dad coming in.

"Come in," she muttered sarcastically, at his lack of knocking.

"Rose, come on, can I talk to you?" he asked, his voice calm.

"About what?" Rose asked. "Stranger danger or the birds and the bees?" She wasn't really mad at him; usually she forgave people only a minute or so after the fight. Still, she wanted to put up a sort of mask, looking like she was still angry at her father. Otherwise, she'd be giving into him.

"About your mum."

Oh.

Her act dropped, looking up at him with searching eyes. He sat down on the edge of her bed, looking at her sadly.

"I loved your mum more than you can possibly know. Do you know I gave up everything just to be with her? Oh, yes. My family disowned me when I married her. Said she was beneath me. I didn't care about the money, or that in ten years I would have inherited a laboratory. I only cared about your mum. Things were going so well when we got married. Sure, it was a little difficult at first for me to adjust to the simpler life, but we were happy, especially when we had a little girl."

Oh.

Rose didn't look up at him, instead, looking down at her knees which were propped up. Tears were prickling at the back of her eyes.

""We did everything together, the three of us. Picnics, carnivals, you name it. We proudly watched as you grew up. You were the spiting image of your mum, just with a few differences. You two girls were everything in my life. And then we–you and I–had her taken away from us. Killed, before her time. I was devastated; we both were. I had lost everything that I had ever loved in her. Her smile, her laugh, her temper."

Both smiled.

"And I don't think I was ready to continue living, but I had to stay strong for my daughter. And it was hard. I had to surround myself with things that reminded me of her in the house, and at work. I was…never the same after she died."

"Neither was I," Rose said, comfortingly.

"I know, sweetheart. A few days ago, I realized that her smile, her laugh, it was in you. Your mum lives in you. In both of us, I should say. She's still with us, not in the photographs or the little trinkets she used to keep, but living and going on inside of us. And that's why I took the things down. I felt it was time to move on, finally. It's what she would have wanted anyway."

He smiled at her, and she looked up at him, tears in both of their eyes, a lone tear streaking down his cheek.

"I can put the pictures back up if you want," he said.

Rose thought about it, but figured it selfish, especially if her dad was ready to move on. "No, Dad, it's okay."

He looked down, guiltily, and looked back at Rose. "And listen, I'm sorry about the way things went today. I'm not upset you're wit him; I quite like him, actually. And I'm not upset you're with him, with him, though I don't really want to hear all of the details–"

"–Dad!"

"But just…I got so worried. I just didn't want to go through with burying another family member. After your mum, you're the only one I got left. I wish I could wrap you up and put you somewhere where no one can ever harm you, but I hear that that way of parenting is frowned upon." He smiled at her, and she gave a light laugh.

"And you can be with him, I say okay to that. Just…give it a couple days. Okay? If you guys really are as good together as you say you are, a couple days won't hurt."

She nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"Hey Dad?" she called back after she started to leave.

He turned back, maybe expecting a 'thank you' or a 'sorry.'

"You said Shireen wanted to go shopping?"

A/N: God, you won't believe how hard that chapter was to write! It was like writer's block convention! Anyway, I hope you liked it! More to follow. I know, the ending to the chapter was kinda cheesy, but anyway. Sorry for the long update!


	11. Kashmir

**Partners in Time**

I'm so sad cuz all my friends are moving away. There's this guy that I've known since the beginning of last school year and he's going to a boarding school out of state and it was his choice cuz he's so smart and I miss him already even though he hasn't gone. This chapter is dedicated to him...

I don't know why, but I'm in a Zeppelin mood (hence the title of the last chapter) and this one.

Anyway. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Kashmir**

She showed up at his flat at about three in the afternoon. She was going to listen to her dad (for once) and stay home for a while, until she told Shireen and Shireen convinced Rose otherwise.

She said two days would turn into a week, then two weeks, then three, a few months…

So, here she was, knocking on the familiar door.

And instead of John, another man opened it. He was really good-looking, with spiky dark brown hair, a nice tan and a strong build. He looked Rose up and down, as if checking her out.

He looked familiar, so familiar, and it was bugging Rose where she had seen him before.

He raised an eyebrow, as if to ask her what she was doing here, or who she was.

And then it hit her. "Jack?" she asked.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Oh," Rose said, suddenly blushing. "I'm sorry, you just looked like…is John here?"

She knew where she had seen his face; in John's dream journal, playing the role of Captain Jack Harkness. But this man apparently wasn't named Jack, and didn't have an American accent.

"Who's asking?" he asked, but it seemed like he already knew because he let her in.

"I'm Rose. Rose Tyler," she extended her hand, which he enthusiastically took.

"Rose Tyler! _The_ Rose Tyler that I can't get John to shut up about?" he grinned, a very good-looking grin. "Well, Rose, you just missed him. He's planning my bachelor party, but I'm not supposed to know about that."

"Oh," Rose said, confused at first. And then something clicked in. "You're Dan, then, right?"

"The one and only. Dan Webber, at your service. So, Miss Tyler, I heard about what happened earlier. I'll say in all John's years, I don't think he's ever got punched by someone's dad!"

"Oh," Rose said, feeling a little guilty. "Is he all right?"

"Are you kidding? My best man sure knows how to take a hit. He's all right, just a small little nosebleed and a small bruise, should be nothing by tomorrow. So, Rose, would you like to wait for him? He should be back anytime soon."

Rose didn't think that would be a good idea. It wasn't that she felt uncomfortable around Dan, instead he had a very comfortable presence around him. She just didn't like the idea that John would come home and see her in his apartment. It just seemed a little too invading.

He had given her a key, but she didn't use it yet, and she'd rather use it when he was home first, if that made any sense, rather than when he was out.

But still, she didn't have much time; Shireen gave her only a small window of opportunity today. She didn't want to leave things like they were, but she didn't want to get into trouble either.

And besides, Dan was there, so it wasn't like she was all by herself, right? He seemed like a nice enough guy.

"Sure," Rose replied.

"Well, Rose, I was just about to go and get something to eat. So glad my Johnny boy finally got some real food in his cabinets. Man, when we were in first year university, all he ever had was marmalade in the cabinets. Can you believe that?" Dan grinned at her, almost identical to John's grin. "Man, you should hear some of the stories I have about this guy."

* * *

John was _not_ having the least bit of fun. 

Here he was, at Dan's_ huge _house (the guy had a lot of inherited money), making preparations for the bachelor party, and all he could think about was the girl popping out of the cake clad in a bra and panties and frosting and cake, dancing around in front of him while Rose was at her flat thinking the world of him.

He didn't want to have to do that to her.

Sure, he liked strippers as much as the next guy (come on, he _was_ a male) but not when he's got a girlfriend who he—

(_loves)_

—really, really likes and—

_(loves no it's not love it can't be love not yet)_

–really, really likes him back, then it feels like he's cheating on her with this strange woman dancing around in front of him. He didn't know how Dan could do it.

He toyed with a liquor bottle he was supposed to be stocking at the bar in the small refrigerator, playing with the cap.

He wished she were here with him right now. She would cheer him up with her gorgeous smile, her wonderful laugh, her beautiful brown eyes and the way they would light up and the way his heart would skip a beat whenever he saw her because he knew that deep down he lo—

(_it's not love it can't be love love's too strong yet and--)_

Oh, who was he kidding. He loved her and he knew it.

He was afraid to say how he felt about her.

He didn't want to admit it to anyone, but he knew that he loved her and that if they were to ever be separated by whatever, he would surely search for her until the day he died or give up everything and go after her.

If anyone were to know this (including her) they'd probably think he was crazy and foolish. Of course, if _she_ were to know she probably didn't love him back, and she would run away.

And that would be bad. Oh yes, very bad.

He wished he could be with her right now. He didn't care if she didn't love him back right now, she liked him a whole lot and that was all that really mattered.

"John?" One of Dan's groomsmen, Lenny called, heading over to him. "Okay. Um…let's see. You're done with the bar…um, how bout if you call the girl?"

He looked up, Rose the first and only girl that popped into his mind.

"You know, the dancer?" Lenny prompted.

Oh.

That.

Yay.

He rolled his eyes, sighing in frustration, praying to the God he didn't quite believe in that this would all end and that maybe the dancer's car stalls out on the way and she can't make it and this would all just be over, and that maybe if he blinks for a long time it'll be next week before he even knows it.

If he only had a time machine.

He wished to the God he didn't really think exsisted that he could be with Rose right now. He didn't care that this was for Dan and that he was the best man and was expected to plan this bachelor party, even though Lenny the Groomsman had practically taken that job over.

If only he had a space ship.

If only he had a space ship _and _a time machine.

----

Currently, Rose and Dan were talking about a story involving Dan and John's high school graduation, Rose and Dan both laughing hard over sandwiches and tea.

"—So, there we are, all lined up in out gowns, and John's called up. He's walking down the aisle, and he steps on the gown, trips, and knock into us. We all fell like dominoes!"

Both laughed, Rose imagining John's face.

"You know, Rose," Dan said, smiling at her as he put down his empty plate. "It was really nice to meet you. I can see why he likes you so much."

After finishing her own sandwich, she glanced at her watch. It was getting late, late enough for her dad to start wondering where she was.

"Well, I actually have to get going," she started, wistfully. "It's getting a little late, and my dad expects me to be home at a certain time."

"Okay, that's fine," Dan nodded, looking up at her. "I'll tell John you stopped over."

He stuck out his hand, which she gladly took, giving a good handshake. "It was really great meeting you."

"Yeah," Rose replied. "Likewise."

She turned to leave, heading out the door.

Dan was a real nice guy, she figured. A little shy, reserved around her, but he had the presence of a big brother.

And of course John would probably put in Dan as one of the characters. Captain Jack Harkness and Dan Webber seemed like so complete opposites that it was almost comical. Not to say that Dan was bland but he didn't exactly have a personality that stood out.

She didn't learn much about him other than he and John had gone to school together since they were toddlers, he travelled around the world a bit in the last couple of years, and a little bit about his fiancée, Trisha. Apparently _she _was the female embodiment of Captain Jack Harkness; suave, sophisticated, a flirt, graceful, and mischievous. He knew that she was a flirt but was fine with it because he trusted her.

She headed down the stairs toward the street, thinking about Dan and John and how Trisha and Dan were getting married and what their wedding would be like, and what _her_ own wedding would be like.

She turned toward the street before rough hands grabbed her arms, spinning her around. A hand clamped her mouth, which she to bit down on hard.

The almost-kidnapper let her go, holding their hand in pain. Rose ran, heading toward John's flat again when she ran into another man, tall, strong, in a dark hooded jacket. She could only see a shadow of his face, but his mouth and nose were covered by a dark scarf.

"Help me!" she cried, before noting her mistake.

He looked at the other guy, coming behind her, and Rose turned to see him wearing an identical black hood as well, the scarf covering his face.

Her heart sank.

She turned to run toward John's flat, but the second man held her hands behind her back, tightly but not rough.

"She's not the one we need," the second man said to the first. He had a low voice, his accent slightly muffled by the scarf, though she could sense it different from a London accent.

"But she'll have to do," the first man said, a strange accent covered by the scarf as well. It was foreign, completely different than the other man's.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Rose shrieked, struggling. "Get the hell away from me! I'm warning you!"

"A fighter," said the first contemplatively.

"Just like her mother," the second retorted.

Rose's alarms went off more than they were. She tried kicking and getting away but the second man held his tight grip.

"How do you know my mother? Are you her killers?! Tell me right now!" she shrieked.

The first man looked at the second, who made a quick jerk of the head to indicate something.

The first man walked toward Rose and the second, taking out something that looked strangely like…

"No!" Rose screamed as the first man pressed a hypodermic needle into her neck.

She felt herself looking up at the second man, and smiled as she saw her captor. Wow. He had gorgeous eyes.

"Thanks, Rose," said the second man, smiling. Did Rose say that out loud? But she knew nothing more as everything went dark.

* * *

After they finished the preparations, the groomsmen went home. John was exhausted as he was so frustrated with Lenny the Groomsman who controlled the universe. 

He remembered Dan was still at his flat, and he rolled his eyes. Well, there went the food he just bought. Dan always raided the cabinets when he was at John's flat, even when they were kids.

He walked back, up the stairs, opening the door with his key and finding the place a mess.

Shoes in the middle of the doorway. Dan's.

Everything everywhere.

And Dan was in the living room, feet propped up on the table, eating a bag of hot chips and vinegar, watching T.V.

John sighed, taking his tie off. "Anybody call?" he asked, hoping Rose had.

Dan shook his head, continuing on watching the football game. John himself didn't much care for soccer, but he knew all about it growing up with Dan.

John went into the kitchen, sighing. So, Rose didn't call after all.

"You just missed your girl." Dan half-shouted.

John came back out of the kitchen.

"What?"

"Rose. She was here. Just left a couple hours ago." Dan replied, looking up.

Commercial break.

"Oh. Really?" John furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yep. Stayed over for an hour. Talked a lot about you." Dan grinned. "But she had to get going. Said something about her dad wondering where she was. Probably afraid you might get punched again?"

"Real funny," John retorted, glarind at Dan.

"Oh, well, that's too bad, you know, about her dad?" Dan started. "But think of it this way: it's kinda like Romeo and Juliet. Two lovers overcoming all obstacles to be together till the end of time. It's really cute what you guys got going on. And she's got a nice backside."

"Shut it," John said, half-serious. "Please tell me you weren't like this to her."

"Nah, I was cordial and everything. You know me, I'm not real social around new people, no matter who they're banging. But she's a nice girl, perfect for you."

John rolled his eyes, watching as the commercial break ended and Dan got up, stretching. He was going to leave, John could tell.

"Well, mate, I gotta get going. It was nice seeing you and all." Dan said, giving John a small hug.

"Yeah, you too," John replied. "See ya around."

He watched Dan leave, leaving only half the mess he made as he was wearing the other. John started picking up the mess, the dishevelled magazines, the couch all askew, wires from the PlayStation 2 hanging out, crumbs and wrappers.

After he was done he sat on the couch and watched T.V. He thought more of Rose, wishing he was with her now.

He imagined her at her home now, in her bed, perhaps sleeping. She would be warm and safe inside of her bed, wrapped securely in her fluffy blankets, dreaming good dreams.

He had no idea how wrong he was.

* * *

Rose woke up, her eyelids fluttering. She could fell anything but her eardrums picking up sounds, hurting a little, and her eyes feeling heavy. 

She could hear faint voices, harsh against her sensitive hearing and foreign. She could only make out a few words.

"What now?"

"Best to keep her restrained."

"We're gonna need her to…"

"They'll kill her."

Her eyes widened. She tried screaming, but could feel her vocal cords.

She was going to die.

* * *

A/N: Ooh, not another cliffie? 

Okay. Real quick. Show of hands, who thinks that Rose and John are really Rose and John and that this is an AU, and who thinks that Rose and John are really Rose and the Doctor in some form and that there's something with them?

I wanna know cuz next chapter you might find out.


	12. Emotional Rescue

**Partners in Time**

Okay. This chapter should answer some questions you guys have, but I'm not gonna give everything away!

I won't be able to update after Friday until the Monday after that cuz Friday's my friend's going-away-party and the weekend's always bad for me. But hopefully I'll post a chapter or two by then. :D

Thank you to all my reviewers so far!

* * *

**Chapter 12: Emotional Rescue**

_Darkness._

_That was all she could see. A void colourless emptiness surround her. _

_She had no idea where she was. All she knew was she was floating. She didn't know where she was, or even if she had a body any more. She couldn't see nor feel her body anymore. _

_But, as she looked down (at least, that's what she thought she did) she saw a tiny little light that contrasted to the rest of the darkness._

Down,_ she thought, and all of a sudden the tiny light got bigger and bigger as she fell. Then, as soon as she had disappeared, a blinding light cascaded her, a voice calling out to her—_

"Doctor!" she gasped, her eyelids snapping open, her body arching upward as her wrists and legs were restrained, strapped down to a table.

She was confused at what she had said and why she had said that, just as she was confused about the hand that was stroking her sweat drenched forehead, soothing her.

As she tried to slow her breathing, she took in the surroundings. A small room, perhaps a bedroom from an old abandoned house. She was laying on a bed of some sort, her legs bound to the foot of the bed, her wrists bound at her sides.

The room itself was dark, with the exception of a few lighted candles, and a few lanterns.

The room was bare except for a few mats, a bare book shelf, a window with blinds and the almost-bed which Rose was laying on.

She looked up to the person that was soothing her, stroking her hair back gently. She looked up and saw the first man that tried to kidnap her looking back at her.

His blue eyes shone at her, the scarf and hood still around him. Little bits of hair poked through his hood, bangs. His hair gel glistened against the candle light.

"Where am I?" Rose asked, looking up at the man with the hair gel.

"It's okay," he said. "You're gonna be all right." He spoke in a strange accent, one which Rose had never heard before. "Don't try to get up; we had to give you a sedative cause you were fighting so much. Don't worry, other than the fact that you'll have a small headache and have a craving for water the next hour, it doesn't do anything to harm you."

"Who are you?" she asked.

"That's not real important."

"It is if you're gonna kill me," she retorted.

"I'm _not_ gonna kill you," he said, his voice slightly patronizing.

"You said my mum earlier," Rose murmured, thinking back.

"What?" Hair Gel asked, his dark eyebrows furrowing.

"'A fighter' you said," Rose started. "And that other man said 'Just like her mother.' _My_ mum, right? Did you know her? Did you kill her?"

"Well, no to your last question," said the guy. "I can't exactly tell you. All I can tell you is that you're safe here. We won't hurt you, okay? We won't kill you, and we'll let you go soon enough. And we'll explain everything to you soon."

"No, we won't," said a cold, harsh voice, dark. She turned her head to see the other man leaning against the doorway, arms crossed against his chest, still in the hood and scarf. The man with the gorgeous eyes.

Hair Gel froze. "Don't—"

"Don't what?" said Gorgeous Eyes. "Don't say that? But it's true. You're _not_ safe here, in fact your not safe anywhere. And we will hurt you. We'll hurt you so badly in ways you can't even imagine. Both of us. All of us. We'll hurt you so badly that none of us in this room will be able to sleep at night. It might even kill you. And you'll never be able to leave. No matter how hard you try, you can't leave. Never. You're with us now, bound to us forever. We won't let you go, neither of us. And, no, we _won't _be explaining anything to you."

Rose looked to Hair Gel, and noted his confused but glaring eyes, directed at Gorgeous Eyes.

"What do—" started Hair Gel, but Gorgeous Eyes continued, ignored him.

"And do you want to know who's the source of all this, Rose? Do you want to know who's fault this is? Why you're here? I think you know him."

Rose could only look at him, wide-eyed.

"I think you know him as John Smith."

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE 'STOPPED OVER?'" Jake's angry voice shouted over the phone.

"She was over here yesterday, but I wasn't home. My friend was over, and she was over for a little while, before she headed home. It must have happened on her way—" he stopped, the shock dying and the realisation of just how bad this situation was.

"Are you sure she's not in your apartment? Maybe locked in a closet or…oh, God, I swear if you did something to my little girl I'll—"

"Mr. Tyler. _Please,_" John pleaded. "I'd never hurt her."

A small pause. Jake must've believed it.

With so much sincerity and conviction, John said, "I'll find her."

Another small pause.

"Do you love her?" Jake asked, his voice calm and listening, much like the person John had met at the dinner at Rose's house.

"I—it doesn't matter. I'll find her."

"Do. You. Love. Her!" Jake persisted.

He gulped. "Yes."

"Give me your address, I'll be at your flat. We'll look for her. Mickey and Shireen have asked to help."

"Okay," John said, nodding, his throat hoarse. "M-my friend Dan asked too."

He gave Jake his address and waited.

He had not meant for anything bad to happen to her, but somehow ever since the two met they seemed to be getting into a lot of trouble.

It was as if the world didn't want them together.

"Sod the world," John murmured to the apartment.

* * *

"John Smith isn't who you think he is, Rose," said Gorgeous Eyes, walking toward her. "He's a dark man, a murderer. He's killed so many people, Rose. You wouldn't believe the pain he's caused me."

"Stop—" Hair Gel warned, but Rose found her voice again.

"You don't know him," Rose spat. "You're just…trying to turn me against him. Well, I can tell you, it's not gonna work!"

She stopped when she heard footsteps approaching. Gorgeous Eyes signalled for Hair Gel, who reached into his jacket pocket, perhaps to pull out a gun. Gorgeous Eyes stood next to the closed door.

_Knock-knock-knock-knock. Knock-knock-knock-knock._ A steady drum beat that seemed like Morse code.

The front door opened, two more hooded figures walking in. Shorter than Gorgeous Eyes, slender, skinny. Two women.

"Is she awake?" asked one of them, the taller of the two. She asked this to Hair Gel.

"Yep," replied Gorgeous Eyes before Hair Gel got the chance.

The shorter one walked up to Rose, her eyes wide. "Oh, my god."

Rose looked up at her, confused and more than a little scared at what was going on.

The woman had brown eyes, glowing skin. Her eyes were so familiar…she had sworn she had seen them somewhere… She reached out to touch Rose, but at the moment, Gorgeous Eyes stepped forward, although the other woman held the shorter woman back before she could touch Rose.

"Wolfe, what did I tell you?" Gorgeous Eyes said, half-shouting. "No one touches her!"

"Sorry, I just—"

"I know. But we don't know what that could do. She's still recuperating from the sedative." Gorgeous Eyes looked Wolfe (though Rose wondered what her first name was) and put his hand on her shoulder, reassuringly. "Just, be more careful next time, okay?"

Wolfe nodded, before turning toward the other woman. She had dark skin, and beautiful dark eyes.

"We've been watching the flat now for a bit. Jacob Tyler, Shireen MacKenzie, and Mickey Smith have left with him and Dan Webber."

"That should be good," Hair Gel said. "But just in case…"

Gorgeous Eyes nodded, then turned to the black woman. "Right. Black, I want you to have Ronnie follow them."

Black nodded and then headed out the door. Wolfe looked up at Gorgeous Eyes.

"And me?" she asked.

"_You_ should probably spend more time with dear old dad," he said, probably meaning something else. She nodded, walking out of the room.

Apparently Gorgeous Eyes and Wolfe were together. Whatever it was, Rose thought maybe she could use it to her advantage.

And something clicked in. "Ronnie!" Rose shouted. "You're with Ronnie! I knew it! I swear if she even comes within an inch of John I'll—"

"You'll what?" Gorgeous Eyes asked, winding her up. "Can't do much strapped down."

"Hey," Hair Gel cut in. "Grumpy. Go tend to Snow White."

"Wrong fairy tale. It's Goldilocks."

"No, it's the 3 Little Pigs," Rose said, not knowing why she said that.

Gorgeous Eyes stared at her hard, furrowing his eyebrows, before leaving the room. "Whatever."

* * *

John was looking all over for her, taking a section of the town. He looked up and down the streets, the others parting in different directions.

He combed the streets, asking people if they had seen her. No one had.

"Rose!" he called out for her.

He passed by a man with his son, and held the picture out. "Excuse me, have you seen this woman?"

He shook his head, obviously uncomfortable, before leading his kid by the shoulder away.

"Where is she?" he asked, brining a hand up to his forehead in frustration.

It was a huge city.

He might never see her again.

* * *

Rose turned back to Hair Gel after Gorgeous Eyes left.

"Rose," he said. "I'm so sorry it had to be this way. I really didn't want you to get hurt."

Rose stared hard into his eyes, wondering why he was so familiar.

"John?"

He shook his head. "No, but you _do_ know me. Somewhere."

She tried to remember where she had seen his eyes…but as hard as she tried the memories slipped away.

"If I know you…do I know them?" she nodded toward the door.

"Yes."

"Then why do they hate me?" Rose asked.

"They don't. We're good people, really. They're just a little irritated, is all." Hair Gel said, looking back into her eyes.

"Because I'm not the one you wanted?"

"Yes." he replied.

"W-was it…John?" Rose asked. "Was he the one you wanted?"

"Yes."

"Why? Did he do something to you?" Rose asked.

"Yes and no, in a sense," he replied, a trace of frustration in his voice. He sighed. "Rose, did you ever see a little tan book that John had? A small, blank tan book?"

Rose didn't say anything, or nod, but her eyes gave it all away.

"He's been writing in it for a long time now, about a man called the Doctor, travelling with his companions. He's written a lot of the story, but not all of it. He's not finished. And he's going to sell it to a T.V. network for a lot of money. It's going to be the most successful T.V. show in Britain, perhaps spanning over more than a century."

"Is that what this is about?" Rose asked. "The money?"

He looked down, his eyes smiling.

"No, Rose. It's so much more than that."

"Then what is it?" she asked.

"You see, John Smith is the Doctor."

* * *

A/N: Okay. Cookies for everyone that guessed! Love you guys this far! Awesome! Next chapter by Monday:D

Predictions???????


	13. Desperate Measures

**Partners in Time**

Liked that last chapter? Well, here's the next instalment of Partners. I'm sad because it's nearing it's end. Only…maybe six or seven more chapters to go. Maybe.

I know you guys are confused about who these people are and keeping track of them, and stuff, but it's like it's from Rose's point of view because she's just as confused and trying to keep track of the names as well.

I titled this chapter after an episode of Stargate SG-1, where Major Carter got kidnapped and Colonel O'Neill had to save her. I thought it was…fitting (I was a big time S/J shipper in my time :D)

Anyway. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Desperate Measures**

"_You see, John Smith is the Doctor."_

Any bond she had with Hair Gel vanished. "Go to hell."

"I'm serious," Hair Gel said, putting his hands up defensively. "But, hey, if you don't believe me, then fine."

"Prove it," Rose snorted.

"Well, uh, we don't know much about his biology right now—"

"Well, the Doctor has two hearts, and I can tell you for a fact that John has only _one_ heart," Rose said, matter-of-factly.

"Touché," Hair Gel smiled, evident in his voice. "But there are other things. Has he…ever said weird things?"

"Hasn't everybody?" she retorted.

"Has he ever…I don't know, said something completely out of the ordinary?" Hair Gel asked.

"I think everyone has, some point in time," Rose spat back, not wanting to give him any information about John.

Hair Gel sighed, frustrated. "Okay. Has he ever…I dunno…had…bad dreams? No, no, stupid question."

He leaned forward, his blue-hazel eyes boring into hers. He rested his chin on his intertwined hands.

"Okay." he said. "He's been going through changes, more than you. You're human, originally; he's a Time Lord, changed human. Apparently. And he has more memories. You're remembering, too. I know you are. A lifetime of memories. He's got _ten _lifetimes of memories that are coming back, and his DNA is changing. His biology is naturally rewriting itself and it's not supposed to do that. The side affects to that is headaches, severe headaches. Nosebleeds. The brain is connected to the nose. Every time the Doctor is trying to come through, he passes out, perhaps seizing. And he's been doing this, hasn't he?"

Rose looked away, silent. He _was_ right about that. Maybe…no. It was just too crazy.

And yet she was beginning to have doubts.

_This has been happening for a long time,_ she heard him say to her at the hospital. _For the past couple of years. Apart from the nosebleed which is relatively new._

The nosebleed was relatively new.

Relatively new.

Meaning it could have been programmed in his memories that he had had seizures for his life, perhaps, so he could dismiss it as nothing wrong…

No, it was crazy.

He was just getting worse.

She turned back to him. "You could have seen his medical records. That doesn't prove anything. And he's had this condition all of his life. Explain that."

Hair Gel sighed. "The condition is new. He _hasn't_ had it all his life. It's just a cover because if this was something completely new it would bring more attention to himself. He _didn't_ have an accident when he was younger, because he was on this _planet_ when he was younger. He was on a planet called Gallifrey, which was destroyed in the Time War—"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" came a familiar and yet strange voice.

Gorgeous Eyes.

Hair Gel moved away, looking at him. Apparently, there was a bad tension between the two.

Gorgeous Eyes strode up to Hair Gel, taller and glowering. "I said not to tell her anything."

"Hey, it's not like she believes us anyway," Hair Gel replied, edginess evident in his voice. "And besides, she has a right to know."

"Not anymore," Gorgeous Eyes replied. "We're dropping the plan. Well, this one at least. We have everything we need, and the experiment is going a lot more quickly than we had hoped."

Hair Gel sighed, looking at Rose. He met her eyes with resolve, and maybe something else…remorse?

"All right," Hair Gel said. "Let's get her prepped. We should bring in Bailey and Allan in to help. Don't let Wolfe come in."

Gorgeous Eyes nodded, walking out of the room. In moments, two more men walked into the room led by Gorgeous Eyes.

Both froze.

"Oh, my god," said one of them, the shorter.

"Rose," breathed the other. He took a step toward her, but Gorgeous Eyes stopped him.

"Allan, no," Gorgeous Eyes warned, and Allan froze. "We have to go to through with thus. You said you had no qualms so don't—"

"I won't. I can do this," Allan stated, his voice cold.

They came toward her, and Rose's fear increased. She turned toward Hair Gel, pleading.

"I'm sorry, Rose. So sorry." He grabbed her by the head, tilting it, and she felt a cold pinch as another hypodermic needle pierced her skin. She screamed, beginning to thrash, until the drug took effect.

And everything went black.

* * *

"Rose!" he called, his throat hoarse, knowing she wasn't anywhere around. He paused when he heard a thud of feet hitting pavement.

He turned around, hopeful it was either her or someone he could ask…

He stopped when he saw her.

Slimming black pants, stunning turquoise top.

And swirling brown hair.

"Stop looking for her, John."

"What?" John asked, too much in shock. And then more aggressively, he added, "I can do whatever I damn well please, Ronnie."

Ronnie shrugged. "I can't mess with free will. But you'll just end up hurt in so many ways. And as much as you don't think I do, I still care a great deal about you."

John laughed, bitterly. "Is that why you send me those threatening letters? What, is it that if I don't take you back you'll kill me? Is that why you hate Rose so much?"

"I don't hate her. In fact, she and I had a very nice talk."

John's face fell. "I swear if you have her…"

"I don't _have _her, John. She came to me."

"Give her back to me!" he shouted.

"I never took her!" Ronnie shouted back to him. "She came to talk. And I listened. Learned some interesting things about you, too. We had a little…girl talk, you might say."

"Ronnie…"

"John I told you once and I'll tell you again: stay away from her. Forces stronger than me will _hurt_ you for being together, don't you get it! It's not a game!"

"I have no idea what the hell games you're playing, but just let her go!" John argued with her. He had no idea Ronnie would ever resort to kidnapping…

Ronnie sighed. "I tried. And I'm not holding her or anything. Look, her and me have reached a deal. If she keeps up her part, I'll leave you alone for the rest of your life."

What? Did he just hear that right?

She walked over toward a space in between two buildings, disappearing. She reappeared, this time followed by…

"Rose!" he ran to her.

"John!" she grinned as he enveloped her in a hug, picking her up and swinging her around in the process.

As they parted their embrace, Rose stepped toward Ronnie, extending her arm in a handshake. Ronnie obliged, an unspoken understanding between the two.

"Thank you." Was all Rose said, and Ronnie nodded.

Ronnie glanced up at John, meeting his eyes, before turning and walking in the other direction.

"So…" John started, carefully as they started walking, heading the other direction. It seemed that Rose had somehow found Ronnie (or Ronnie had somehow found Rose) and they met and talked for a few hours. About what, though, John had no idea. And he wouldn't force it upon Rose to tell him.

"So?" Rose asked, innocently, cocking her head to the side.

"Nothing," John replied. "Is that where you were this whole time?"

"Well, I stopped by your flat in the afternoon," Rose started. "Met up with your friend Dan, too, by the way, great fellow, and took a bus here to meet Ronnie. _I _set this up, not her. Had a long talk. I figured it was time, seeing as how I'm not gonna be leaving you anytime soon."

John grinned despite the worry, stress, and frustration of this search. He wrapped his arm around Rose, pulling her closer to him.

Still…something seemed off. Like the perfectly timed encounter with the two. And he knew Ronnie, she wouldn't back off for just anything. And Rose wouldn't tell him what it was… Still. And plus, why was it _him_ that ran into them? Why not Mickey or Shireen or Dan or Jake?

Jake.

John smacked himself on the forehead, groaning. "Jake…" he muttered under his breath.

"Jake?"

"Your father. What's _he_ gonna do when he finds out you've been with my psychotic stalker of an ex-girlfriend?" John groaned.

"Hold on," Rose stopped in her tracks. "You mean, Dad's been looking for me too?"

"And Mickey and Shireen and Dan."

"Oh, my God. How long have I been gone?" Rose asked, worried.

"Not that long," John admitted. "Your father called me when I got home, said you were late for dinner. I told him the truth, that you stopped by earlier, but you were gone already. Mickey hadn't seen you, Shireen hadn't seen you…he did a whole ring-around and not one person who laid eyes on you has seen you. Your dad and I and everyone else were pretty worried."

Rose rolled her eyes, groaning. "I guess I better call Dad, then. Tell him I'm all right."

She got out her mobile, as they started walking.

"Dad?" she answered. "It's Rose. I'm with John right now…it's a long story. Just…yeah, I know…I'm sorry…just call Shireen and Mickey and everyone and tell them I'm I'll right…I'm sorry, it was…I'll explain later, all right? Love you!"

She hung up.

"I'm in trouble," she said, groaning.

* * *

It was a week later and everything was bliss. John and Jake were getting along really well after that. Shireen and Rose learned that they were going to be roommates at the university. Shireen and Mickey had already had two dates. John and Mickey had gotten into only one fight, but that was only about what soccer team was better. And John and Rose had peace, without worrying about Ronnie coming after them.

And, on the Wednesday of the week, Jake had given Rose the best gift ever.

She had been in her room that day, writing in her own journal, when Jake had come in the room and sat down, looking sad.

She had looked up at him, wondering what the bad news was.

"What is it, Dad?" she had asked, concerned.

"Well, Rose," he had started. "I've got a little problem. You see…I've had a long conversation with a certain older student that I'm sure you know _very_ well. And, you see, he and I came to an agreement that it would be a lot harder if every time you came home you had to bring home your bed and furniture and things. So we thought maybe it would best if you didn't pack them. But, there's just the little problem of you being in them and you using them while you're gone."

Rose had blinked. Did that mean she was going to sleep on the floor or something?

"So, me and said student thought it would be best if you maybe…I dunno, shared with someone else. I dunno…a place where you can come home that's closer to the university and have a sort of roommate. Well, and I told him that I absolutely hated the idea."

_Oh_. So that's what Jake meant.

"Of course, I still said okay, though," he had said grinning. Rose had thrown her arms around him.

She was so happy that day.

She was moving in with John.

"Now, John and Mickey'll be here to pick up some of your things. But, under one condition."

"Anything, Dad."

"You have to promise that you'll come visit sometime." He had grinned at her, and Rose knew that he and John were okay again.

The next day, the Thursday of the Week of Bliss had consisted of packing and some snogging (although, more appropriately labelled snogging and some packing) having Mickey and Shireen going on a double-date at a nice restaurant, and going home and falling asleep wrapped up in each other's arms as they fell asleep watching the T.V.

It was incredible how they had just fell comfortably into this new lifestyle.

---

"Quite the day yesterday," John said, his breath tickling her ear, his voice low and almost a growl.

She was sitting on his lap, her legs around his waist, facing him at the end of the couch.

She found it hard to think when he was doing such wonderful things to her skin just below the hem of her t-shirt.

"And now we've got _all_ the rest of summer to do _whatever _we want," Rose replied, pushing her hips against his and he let out an animal growl.

"R-really?" he stuttered, as she scraped her teeth against his jawbone, lightly trailing kisses on him. "L-like what?"

She lost all control of her voice as his hand slipped up her shirt, lightly skimming the smooth skin of her stomach. She gained it back, but had a hard time getting the words out as she stumbled. "Well, for starters, there's always shopping."

"Oh, please let it be for lingerie," he growled, making her giggle.

"You gonna try some on?" she started, her last word turning into a moan as he sucked her pulse point.

"Ooh, you've got a dirty mind!" John grinned against her, not a happy grin, she knew, but a cheeky one.

"Actually I was thinking shoe shopping," she stuttered out, nipping on his earlobe.

He groaned at the thought of new shoes. "Way to ruin the moment…ohhh."

She smiled against him, pushing her hips against his. "What was that?"

"Mm…nothing."

"Good." she paused, grabbing his specs off the small table next to them. "Hold on, put these on."

He smiled as she put them on him, kissing her lips with great passion.

"So…shopping then?" he asked, meeting his lips with hers again, kissing her senselessly and literally taking her breath away.

She looked at him, almost going cross-eyed because they were so close.

"Well," she started, skimming the waistband of his pants. "Maybe we can do the shopping some other time."

"Maybe."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked, playing around.

"PlayStation?" he asked, hopeful. He smiled against her.

"Well, if that's what you really want…" Rose started, moving to seem like she was going to leave.

He threw her back on the cushions of the couch, passionately yet gently, pinning her down and kissing her senselessly.

He grinded his hips against hers, which resulted in her sinking her fingernails in his back through his clothes.

"Doctor!" she called out.

He paused, looking into her eyes.

"Doctor?" he asked, grinning.

She shrugged, looking as innocent as she could. "Role-playing?"

He grinned, slow and devilishly, continuing to kiss her and make love to her and everything was so good again.

It was the perfect ending and the perfect beginning.

* * *

A/N: Ooh, am I raising more questions? I put in the fluff cause people are asking. :D I love my reviewers you guys are so awesome. So…more predictions? Try and get the next chapter up as soon as I can:D 


	14. Answers

**Partners in Time**

A/N: I love this story! Yay! I might actually finish it! (which would be the first story I've EVER posted that was finished in all my 3 years here) I should get a medal. Or a swift kick in the behind. Most likely the latter. :(

This is probably the fourth of fifth to the last chapter. Perhaps sixth. But it will be ending soon :( :tear:

And this is a quick chapter, too. Not that it's short, but it's quick. You'll see what I mean.

Anyway. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 14: ****Answers**

_She was __being followed again. Same person, with the biker suit on, the helmet covering their face._

_She slowed her pace, and they slowed theirs. She sped up, and they did too._

_She didn't dare look over her shoulder or cross the street to the other side. They'd get her for sure._

_She saw John ahead of her, beckoning for her to come, extending his hand and preparing to run._

_But he didn't see the people with the scarves and hoods on behind him. She knew who they were yet she didn't, and she wanted to yell out to John so badly to turn around and see them…_

"_Run!" that was what she tried shouting, but it was a different one, one that felt weird in her eyes, different._

_And the biker was behind her. _

_She sprinted, grabbing John's hand and running, away from the biker and away from the hooded people._

_They turned, running down an alley, out of sight._

_They were trapped, a brick wall behind them. They stood, holding each other as tightly as she could. _

_Then she heard the noise, the sound of a old, rusty machine, and a light appeared out of thin air behind them, against the brick wall._

_And before the blue box could fully appear, the biker and the hooded people came into the alley, coming for them._

_John looked at Rose, giving her a final kiss, and handed something small to her._

"_Don't leave me," Rose said, crying._

"_I'm not leaving you," John smiled at her, patronizingly. "I'm getting help. He knows how to help us."_

"_I don't care," Rose protested. "I love _you._"_

"_And so do we. Goodbye, both of you."_

_He stepped forward, slinging his huge brown trench coat the process as he walked toward the hooded people. _

_The blue box stopped in mid-air, transparent._

_The biker came to Rose, not caring about John, the black helmet glistening against the city light._

_Rose saw the crowd of hooded people envelope John and she screamed for him as the biker came closer and closer…_

"NO!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, as she fell, screaming as the biker took hold of her arms before she hit the floor.

"Stop it! Let me go! Don't touch me!" she yelled at the biker.

"Rose!"

She paused, looking up, taking in her surroundings. John's bathroom. The flat.

John was looking down at her as he held her, worry and shock apparent in his face.

She cried, breaking down. He didn't know why.

"I came in here," he said, "because I heard you walking around. I saw you go in here, and then I heard crying and shouting, and…you were sleepwalking and then I saw the mirror and…"

She looked up. The bathroom mirror had blood on it. Her blood, she could tell by her own hands which were covered in it. _REMEMBER_.

No, not blood, she looked at her own hands, smelling the lipstick. Ruby red lipstick.

_Remember_.

"I do. I do…" she sobbed. "I remember."

---

It was now three in the morning, two hours after the incident.

John was sitting in his flat on the couch, still in his pyjamas. He had been holding Rose, comforting her as she was sobbing hysterically.

Now, she was sitting across from him in their living room, explaining.

"I wasn't with Ronnie," she started. "I thought I was, but I really wasn't."

He absorbed this, not really knowing what she meant. She seemed confused about it herself.

"I remember everything now, and I don't know why it just came to me. It's all so weird. I see myself with Ronnie, like I remembered before, and I see myself there, like two different timelines."

"Where?" he asked, leaning forward.

"I was at your flat, and I was with Dan," she started. "I had left a little while after that because Dad wanted me home for dinner. I didn't want to get caught because he was still angry with you. I walked out of there, and ran into these guys. I don't know their real names, but I called one of them Hair Gel and the other Gorgeous Eyes because that was the only way to describe them. They had hoods and scarves on so I couldn't see their faces."

She continued her story, about how Hair Gel was the nicest one, talking about the new people, Wolfe, Allan, Bailey, Black. About their strange accents and their caring behaviour. She left out the part where they kidnapped her, and strapped her to the bed. She knew John would go ballistic and that was not what she wanted right now.

"And then they drugged me. I remember Allan, Gorgeous Eyes, Bailey and Hair Gel carrying me. I was still conscious but paralyzed as the drug was rewriting me consciousness. At least, that was how Hair Gel explaining it. It would rewrite my memories as they wanted me to remember. They told me that I had called Ronnie and told her to meet me at a certain place, and that I had walked there, and that Ronnie and I talked and then they gave me to Ronnie, and that's when you came. Ronnie told me that I was to wait for her to talk to you and that then I would 'wake up' but with the memories they programmed in me. That's everything."

He sat, silent. Rose wondered if he thought she was crazy.

"And do you believe any of this?" he asked, quietly.

She sighed. "I…honestly, I don't know. They knew a lot about you, a-and the journal."

He looked at her, long and hard, his gaze boring into hers.

"But that's not all?" he asked, what felt like hours after.

"No."

Another silence.

Rose got up from the couch, heading toward the boxes that she hadn't yet unpacked, digging in to find a small book.

Her dream diary.

She walked back out, handing it to John before resuming her seat.

She tucked her hair behind her ear, sighing as he flipped through it. "I-I've had these dreams. Dreams that…relate to the show. Your journal. I'm running from someone, and I see you, but sometimes it's not quite you, and then the blue box—"

"The TARDIS?" he asked, as he saw an entry.

She nodded. "I…I can't explain it, and you always…" Tears were welling up in her eyes. Why? They were only dreams. "You always go. Leave me. To save me. But the person that's following me still comes after me."

"I mean, I don't know what any of it means. A-and…it didn't start when I met you." she bit her lip, quivering. "I didn't realize it then, but it was _you. _It happened…weeks before I met you. Same man, though. His face didn't change to yours when I met you, it _was_ yours before I met you."

He paused, setting the journal down and letting it sink in, before muttering a few words in a language Rose had never heard.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said. "It just sounded good." Then he looked down at his hands. "Gallifreyan. That's what it was."

"F-from the show."

He looked up at her, shocked. "I don't know!" He threw his hands up in the air, smacking his knees when they came down. "I mean, I used to get this feeling…like there was something more, you know? That I'm supposed to _be_ someone, to _be_ somewhere. I though everyone was supposed to be like, but for me it wasn't always there. It started around the same time as…well, as soon as my condition started getting worse. And I had these ideas in my head that wouldn't get out…so I wrote them in my journal. I was never a writer, o-or an artist. I never picked up a pencil other than to write essays for school or a speech. And the only sketching I had ever done was in my art class in the 10th grade which I failed! And suddenly I had these new talents and new ideas, and it was…_incredible_. And I've had dreams, too. Dreams like yours, and _you_ were the one in there. Rose Tyler. I didn't just put you in as the Doctor's companion when I met you, Rose. You were already in my head before I even saw you."

Rose buried her head in her hands. "But what does it all mean?"

"Either they're right or we're crazy."

"Wait, you knew Shireen?" Rose had an idea. "Maybe we ran into each other at one of her parties or something. I mean, that's why I remembered you and you would remember me, right?"

He looked up at her, smiling, though she could tell he was just trying to believe it himself.

"The only thing, though…" Rose started, half-thinking out loud. "I mean, they were really nice. For kidnappers."

John practically bolted in his seat.

"What?!" he shouted. "They kidnapped you? I thought you said you just came with them? Did they hurt you? Cause if they did…"

"John!" Rose warned. "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. And besides, they were quite nice."

"Nice!" he practically spat. "I'll show them nice!"

He got up, practically marching for the door. Rose followed him, holding him back.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to teach them not to mess with my girl." John growled. "You said they were right inside that building where I found you and Ronnie?"

"Don't," she pleaded, even though somewhere she knew he had to. They had all but told her.

"Why?" He asked, his pupils dark, smoldering with rage. "They hurt you."

"_No_, they didn't," Rose protested. "And besides, you don't know what they could do to you. Th-they said that if you met up with them, you'd remember and…John, you don't know what they're capable of. They _sent_ you to me, do you know that? They led you right outside to show me that they could do anything they wanted. I mean, it wasn't a coincidence that we just so happened to be where you were looking. _Please. _Don't go. Promise me."

He was silent. She took him by the shoulders, looking into his eyes. "_Promise me!"_

He looked at her in her eyes. "I promise, Rose."

She took him by the hand, silently hating herself for every moment right now. She led him back to the bedroom, laying down under the covers, feeling him do the same.

She turned her back to him, pretending to go back to sleep, shutting her eyes and breathing slowly, thinking.

She wasn't surprised when she felt him get off the bed, but was surprised that he went into his office. He was in there for what she supposed was about twenty minutes.

He returned, and she closed her eyes again, hearing him dress into proper pants and a shirt.

She felt him sit on the bed as he got on his socks and shoes.

A single tear slid down her face. She was scared at what they'd do to him. It was all to weird.

"Why are you letting me go?" he asked.

She didn't reply at first, shocked. Of course, he always knew when she was awake. Somehow.

She looked up at him, turning, and finally sitting up. "How did you…?"

"I've been sleeping less and less over the past couple of months. I don't need more than an hour's sleep. Pretty soon it'll be once a week."

"You really think you're the Doctor."

"Yes," he said as he paced around the flat, heading toward the front door as she followed him. "I can't explain it, but the moment you said it it made perfect sense. I'll be careful, I promise. And if I come back and I'm still John Smith, then lock me up in the psych ward. But I've been thinking about it all. The convenient coincidences, like the blind date, the way that they kidnapped you outside my house like they knew you'd be there, even though it was a last minute thing. The way that you just so happened to pass the café me and Ronnie were. The way you and Ronnie just so happened to be where I was. The way that I feel like I've known you for years even though it's only been about a month."

Tears were streaking down her face as she gave him a crushing embrace. "You can't though."

"I have to," he replied, holding her tightly.

She looked up at him, meeting his saddened eyes. "I—"

She stopped, her voice gone. It hurt her to say it like this.

"I love you."

He looked shocked, speechless and happy at the same time. "Quite right, too."

He smiled. "And I suppose—only one chance to say it—Rose Tyler—"

He was silenced by her putting her finger on his lips. He looked at her, confused.

"Tell me when you get back here," Rose replied, smiling through her tears. He smiled back, kissing her so passionately.

She let him go, watching as he went through the front door and turned back to look at her. His eyes told her everything she wanted to hear. He nodded toward her, before heading toward the stairs.

She sobbed, crying as hard as she could. She vaguely heard thunder and lightning as the thunderstorm started.

* * *

He walked for a long time, feeling as if he was being led by some invisible force.

It had been raining, thundering, and for some reason he wondered if it had been created by the sadness in his heart.

He stopped as soon as the feeling of being led left him. He threw out his arms, shouting.

"_It's me_!" he shouted to the rain. "_I'm here! Come get meeee_—"

He felt a hand go over his mouth and he stopped shouting. The hand let him go, and John spun around to see Ronnie.

"Don't do that," she told him. "You'll give yourself away to them."

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Nobody, really," Ronnie answered, sincerely. "I'm not human, if that's what you're asking."

It was real. Oh, god, it was real. And Rose…

"It's real," Ronnie seemed to echo in his mind. "Doctor Who. It's real. And you're the Doctor."

"No, I'm not." he protested.

"Come on," she said. "Let's get you inside before you catch pneumonia. We'll explain everything."

---

He was led into the building, and he knew it was the one they had taken Rose to.

He saw many people with hoods and scarves on, and some that were dressed regular.

"I've got him. He's ready," Ronnie stated.

He was surprised at the people he saw. He looked around as the people looked up at him.

Some he recognized but didn't know.

Others…

"Oh, God." he said.

"Welcome to the Preachers," said one of the hooded ones.

He looked straight into the man's eyes, and felt like a train had hit him.

And at that precise moment, he knew why Rose was in trouble.

He remembered everything.

He collapsed on the floor, holding his head and screaming in pain, until he knew nothing.

---

She had been getting ready to leave when it happened. She heard the knocking at the door, and thought it was John.

She wiped the tears from her eyes, calling out to the person. "Coming!" she called, quickly rinsing her face.

She had slipped her shoes on, walking toward the front door.

She answered it, seeing the person and smiling at them.

"Oh, it's you," she said. "Come in!"

And she was knocked about ten feet backward by a blaster.

* * *

A/N: What did I say? Quickly, or not? Ooh, still more to come. Don't worry. It's gonna be good. Aww…it's ending soon? Nah. Still a few more chapters to go! 


	15. It Ends Tonight

**Partners in Time**

So, how did you like that last chapter? Well, I can't update Wednesday because I'm gonna be busy, but I made that up by posting two chapters in a day! Plus I don't want to finish. I love this story too much and I think I'll either finish it by the end of the week or by the beginning of next week. School starts next Wednesday so…:(

Anyway. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 15: It Ends Tonight**

Rose was thrown backward by such force from the blaster that she literally crashed into the wall, a gaping hole in it, the plaster falling.

She couldn't move. She was paralyzed for a moment, and with the exception of breathing, nothing worked.

"It was so easy," the shooter said, coming toward Rose. "I was so close to you two, and you didn't even realize it. Of course, you had to go and ruin the plan. _They _had to go ruin the plan. You were supposed to die together. Before you remembered. But then they had to get you and tell you the truth. Oh, well, I guess I have to take things into my own hands."

"Please…you're my friend," Rose pleaded, blood trickling down her face from the impact of the hit. She licked the blood from her split lip…wait. Her tongue and jaw worked…

It went unseen by the shooter as they picked up the two dream journals.

"You're _friend?_ Are you kidding?" the shooter laughed. "I _played _you. Sure, there was a person from your world with the same name, which I took. All I did was look into your memory and take their name. You don't even care if I look nothing like them!"

"Memory?" Rose asked. "You did this?"

"Well, sort of. Me and my people." replied the shooter, waving around the gun. "We saw you two coming and we had to help ourselves. I mean, a Time Lord…that was something that doesn't come by too often. And then of course, his faithful companion. She would've been useful, too, but perhaps a little more boring. We'd retrieve whatever memories we needed by direct extraction, killing you in the process, but then the plan changed."

"What happened?" Rose asked, buying time. Apparently, aliens loved to talk.

"We found out how valuable you'd be against him. He'd cooperate, consciously or subconsciously, if you'd be there. His one weakness."

Rose gulped.

"I mean, it was clear when you stripped his consciousness that all he cared about was you. It was written out in his soul, literally. And we also sensed something in you, deeper. Something….power. More powerful than the Time Lord, perhaps. So we decided to use you, too."

She wiggled her toes, unseen in her sneakers. Apparently, human recovered more quickly than…well, whatever they were.

"Why kill us, then?" Rose asked. "You said you didn't want to kill me until you got my memories. I don't remember everything yet."

The shooter laughed. "Silly little hume child. You don't understand. You don't _have_to remember anymore. The process is already over. These—"

The shooter waved around John's and Rose's journals, grinning. "Are all the memories we need. Granted, neither of you have finished, but we will just have to cope. And now, Bad Wolf, prepare to die."

The shooter aimed the blaster at Rose, but Rose had the advantage, ducking out of the wall, a bigger hole the size of crater where she was.

She had seen something like that before, vaguely. Perhaps as Rose Tyler, Defender of the Universe.

She ran to the living room, throwing random objects the shooter.

The shooter came toward her, as Rose hit them as hard as she could with a lamp in the back of the head, the journals and blaster dropping underneath the couch.

The shooter, unarmed, lunged at her.

Rose was never a fighter, but she, Mickey and Shireen had done their fair share of roughhousing when they were young.

Rose dove out of the way, the shooter running past her.

She kicked the shooter in the back of the kneecaps, bringing them down.

She tried to think of a plan, any plan to disable the shooter without killing them in them process.

Anything…

She thought the blaster might get her some leverage but it was stuck under the couch so she'd be vulnerable getting it.

And she couldn't keep fighting like this much longer.

She was beginning to feel weak.

She didn't realize it until all the adrenaline started to fade, but that blast had really got her.

There was a burning sensation in her head, above her forehead where the blood was coming from. After touching the spot lightly she felt a small of piece of plaster in her head, another in her side, larger, along with a few shards of the lamp she used to hit the shooter lodged in her heads.

She wasn't a doctor, but she knew she was losing blood too quickly for her liking.

She heard the shooter coming toward her as she ran to the coffee table, and her purse.

She unzipped her purse, but before she could reach in, she was grabbed by the back collar of her shirt and thrown backward by the shooter, who went to look for the gun under the couch.

Still on the ground, Rose kicked the shooter's head _hard._ The shooter fell forward, then turned to come after her.

The shooter threw a punch with their right, which Rose blocked, falling back in a laying position and rolling over. As the shooter stood up, she grabbed the shooter's right leg between her two feet and tripped them.

She had an idea.

The shooter came after her, but she was quicker. She grabbed her purse off of the coffee table, and ran behind the couch, brining her hand and purse under the couch.

It looked like she was digging under the couch for the journals and blaster with both hands, but she was really digging through her purse with one hand looking for…

The shooter kicked her in the ribs, hard, and where her wound was. She dropped the purse in the process, groaning and rolling over in pain.

The shooter gave Rose a psychotic grin through a split and bloody lip.

"You don't know how long I've been dying to do this," the shooter said. "Listening to you babble incessantly about guys, shopping and make-up. Honestly, I would've killed you a long time ago. But it's _so_ satisfying to be able to kill you. Tell me, what's it like to be killed by the person who you thought was your friend?"

"I don't know," Rose answered, truthfully. "And you know what? I never will."

"Pretty little hume girl thinks she can defeat the leader of the mighty Tecallians?" the shooter laughed. "Well, let me tell you, little girl. I have teeth that will rip you apart, claws that will slice you, and such a strength that will break ever bone in your body. And I'll make sure you're still alive so you can feel everything that I just described."

"Well, let me tell _you_ something, Your Majesty," Rose said, grinning, her fingers tightening, causing the pain in her abdomen to increase. "You may look like that in your world, but this is my world, and you look like a human. And, as a human, you have the same weaknesses!"

She used that opportunity to use her one hand to spray the pepper spray in the shooter's eyes, hearing the alien scream in pain.

She pushed the shooter off with her foot, holding the blaster at her.

She watched the shooter roll around, screaming, holding an arm to her eyes. As much as they had wanted to kill Rose, she felt bad for the shooter. It wasn't right…

She knew that the shooter looked like a human, but she wasn't expecting what came next.

The shooter removed her arm from their eyes, and instead of the watery, reddened and perhaps blinded eyes, the skin around the eyes had been burned away to reveal a scaly turquoise under skin, the eyes completely different. They were larger, without any eyelashes, just tiny slits with large red pupils.

Rose held the blaster up to the shooter, but it was obvious that all rationality had left them. It was edging closer to Rose, ready to kill her.

Rose started to lose her balance. She was losing too much blood now…

Still, she had to hold on.

She took a step backward from the shooter because she did not want to shoot them.

As the shooter raised an arm, half-burned from the pepper spray, to hit her, Rose shot.

She expected the shooter to fly backward from the blast like she had been, but that wasn't the result.

Instead the shooter fell to the ground, looking untouched but dead.

Rose walked toward the shooter, trying to feel for a pulse. Nothing.

She looked at the blaster, which had a bunch of symbols on it when she had seen it before.

Now it was in English.

Stun, Kill, Neutralize. And it was set on kill.

_No…_

She didn't want to kill her. She couldn't have.

_There's nothing on the body. No wounds, no nothing. Their still alive._

But there was no pulse. No rise and fall of the chest.

_Avada Kedavra._

_No…_

She reached for the journals, turning the blaster to Neutralize before shooting them. Only smoke and dust were the remnants of the journals.

She had to call John, to tell him…

To tell him…

The Doctor.

A murderer.

She stumbled toward the kitchen to get the phone…

But she succumbed to the wounds and passed out before she even left the living room, falling unconscious.

* * *

_She was on the dark street. _

_She heard the almost-silent thud of the boots of the biker behind her. She knew she had to turn around…but it was so hard._

_And then she saw John._

_It was really John. John in his street clothes, in his blue shirt and brown pants. He was calling her, waving to her._

_And the people with the hoods were behind him._

_She called for him, trying to tell him to run._

_She yelled something, a different word coming out, the same word she had yelled in her last dream…_

"_Remember!"_

_She sprinted toward him, and he ran toward her, the biker and the hooded people still behind them._

_They ran into a small side street._

_The biker and the hooded people were closing in on them, and the blue box was flying behind the group, solid._

_John turned toward Rose._

"_Rose, I have to do this."_

"_No, you don't, I don't want you to die." she pleaded, grabbing onto his shirt,_

"_Everyone has to die," he replied, in that slightly patronizing tone._

_She felt a hot tear streak her cheek, which he brushed away with his thumb._

"_It's okay, though," he said to her. "I'll be okay. I just need to get help for us. Okay?"_

_She nodded, even though they both knew it was far from okay. _

"_I lo—" she started, through her tears, but he put a finger on her lips._

"_Tell me when you get back, okay?" he said, smiling._

"_I'll have something to look forward to."_

"_We both will," he replied, and again he handed her something, Something hard, not quite big, not quite small…_

_She put it in her coat pocket…wait, since when was she wearing a coat?_

_A long brown trench coat. HIS brown trench coat._

_She looked up at him one last time, seeing tears in his eyes. _

_He cupped her cheek, giving her one last goodbye kiss, gentle and yet passionate._

"_Take the box," he said, handing her a small metal box. "You can open it later."_

_She smiled, taking it, and putting it in the pocket._

_He held her chin up to meet her eyes. "Rose, when she comes, you have to face her. Okay?"_

"_I can't," she replied. "It's too scary."_

"_Please. Promise me."_

"_I promise."_

_She closed her eyes, not wanting to watch as he turned and walked into the crowd of the hooded people._

_And yet she still had to._

_She saw him covered by them, hiding him._

_The biker approached Rose, coming closer and closer._

_Rose was scared, but she wouldn't back down this time. She couldn't. He had given her strength._

_The biker was now arm's length away. _

_The biker reached for their helmet, removing it. _

_Long blond hair, brown eyes. A wiser look. _

_It was her._

"_It's all right," said the other Rose._

"_You've been following me?" Rose asked._

"_I am you. But not quite. I am Rose Tyler, the one who travels with the Doctor. I've been trying to find you, but every time you run from me. We needed to meet up so you can remember."_

_Rose looked at the man approaching._

_It was John. John wearing a trench coat and suit and converse trainers. _

_John with an unmistakable sadness behind his eyes, and a frightening wisdom in them._

_The Doctor._

_He turned toward the other Rose. "Is she ready?"_

"_Yes," the other Rose said, extending her hand out to Rose. "You have to wake up so you can remember. But you won't be quite whole again."_

"_How do I remember?" Rose asked._

"_Look in your pocket," said Joh—no, the Doctor._

_Rose dug in her pocket, finding the object John had given her, while he was still John._

* * *

She woke up from the floor, new, and with so much more energy, despite her wounds. She didn't care about them now.

They weren't real.

She ran—well, limped—as fast as she could to the bedroom, rifling through boxes that had not been opened yet.

And there it was.

A small, cardboard box she had never remembered packing. One without any markings on it, and only tape on the front.

One she had never been able to see before.

She got a knife and cut it open.

And there it was. Folded all nicely.

The brown coat.

John had some like these, but this one was so different. It had so much more inside.

She reached in, the pockets much larger on the inside.

And then she felt it. A metal hardness, cool on her skin, not to long and not to short.

She pulled it out, opening her hand.

And she remembered everything.

"_Run!"_

"_Welcome to the end of the world!"_

"_I am so glad I met you!"_

"_Are you my mummy?"_

"_I'm Captain Jack Harkness."_

"_Who looks at a screwdriver and says 'Ooh, this could be a little more sonic?"_

"_I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself."_

"_Before I go…I just wanted to say. You were fantastic. And you know what? So was I."_

"_Am I ginger?"_

"_Strictly speaking, it's the fifteenth New York, which makes it New New New New New New New New New NewNew New New New New New York."_

"_The valiant child who will die in battle."_

"_I made my choice a long time ago and I'm never gonna leave you."_

"_I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."_

"_Am I ever gonna see you again?"_

"_You can't."_

"_Rose Tyler—"_

"_I understand you've had a lot of experience with aliens. We are in need of that kind of skill."_

"_Mickey, I've done and seen so many things working at Torchwood…so why can't I find a way to get back to him?"_

"_Doctor!"_

"_Rose!"_

"_We have to leave, now. We're going home. All of us."_

"_So, where to then?"_

"_The Tecallians are a nice people. Work with dreams. Though I haven't been there since…well, since my 3__rd__ regeneration."_

"_Doctor!"_

"_No!!"_

She vaguely heard the front door open.

She cried, hard, sobbing, the sonic screwdriver still in her hand.

And he was there, calling her name for her to come out.

She rushed out of the room, flinging her arms around him, looking up at him.

The sadness of the war.

The immeasurable depth of the eyes, the nine hundred and something years of wisdom and experience hidden behind the concern and fresh hurt.

John Smith was gone, replaced by the Doctor.

She was sobbing hysterically into his shoulder. Holding onto him as he held her.

"Doctor," she choked. "I remember everything."

"It's all right," he comforted her, stroking her hair soothingly.

"Shireen—"

"I know." He said. "She came here?"

"I tried to stop her, but she was evil and I shot her and I didn't mean to kill her and I remembered and—are they all right?"

He looked at her, friendship and compassion in his eyes.

"They are. Do you want to see them?"

She shook her head, resting on his shoulder. "Not now. In a little while, but not now."

He held her tightly, then noticed the blood.

"Let's get out of here, first, right?"

She nodded. He detached from her, heading into the room. It made her sick to think about it now, about the consequences and what would happen because of them being together. She pushed it from her mind to another time.

He reappeared with the lap top, opening it. It was already on.

A small popup screen which just said PASSWORD.

"I've been trying to figure this out for the longest time," the Doctor explained to Rose. "I tried everything. But now I know I couldn't have done it until now."

He pulled the laptop toward them looking into the screen.

"This is the Doctor," he started to the screen. "Your experiment has failed and your leader is dead. We demand that we leave this realm and safely go back to the real world, and be able to leave to Earth without any harm to us, or anyone else ever again."

The screen remained blank.

And then a window came up, a screen, with what looked like a web cam video.

Two dark blue scaled creatures with red slanted eyes that looked very much like the Shireen-creature appeared, wearing dark red lab coats.

"Permission granted." said one in a gravely voice.

And before Rose could even ask what was happening, she was being sucked through a tunnel of some kind, falling into a vortex.

* * *

A/N: Well, that was a lot longer than usual. Two extra pages. I hope you like it. I've got about two or three more chapters left. :D That's it for now, until at least Thursday. 


	16. Part Of Your World

**Partners in Time**

I lied. I had actually made this chapter on paper and when typing it I realised it was twice as long as I thought. Therefore it's two chapters. :D

No!! I'm almost done! But a couple of my reviewers did put an idea into my head…a prequel! I just might do that. I don't know. I should go back and focus on my other stories. Finish them (or at least attempt to). Still, this comes first.

Anyway. Enjoy.

* * *

**C****hapter 16: Part of Your World**

She thought she was dead, her body feeling as if it was being ripped apart.

But she landed on the ground as quickly as she left.

It was like jumping through realities.

She looked for him, seeing him a few feet away. She clung to his jacket—no, it wasn't his anymore. It was still John's.

She saw the hooded people standing around her, and the not so hooded people.

Among them were her old family and friends. Her fake ones.

She pointed the sonic screwdriver at them, at the fake Mickey's throat.

"Who are you?"

"Rose—" started the Doctor.

"I'm not anyone bad, I swear," the fake Mickey said.

"It's true," the Doctor said. "They're not human, but their not Tecallians either. Though what they're doing still in this reality, I'm not sure…"

"What do you mean?"

The Doctor sighed. "Rose, that place we were in…it was all fake. Everything was created out of our minds, our desires, and our dreams. Earth was the way you remember it, even if a few details were off. We created what we wanted to, settings, and everything else. But not people, because they didn't want familiar people around us to help us remember."

"But Dan—that's Jack," Rose protested.

"No, Rose," said Dan, coming forward. "I'm not. I was created. Just like Mickey, just like Jake. Just like Ronnie. And a few other people that you know."

Everything was a lie. Everything she had ever lived…no, that's right. She was Rose Tyler of Earth, 2007. The Doctor's companion, lost and found.

"Dad—Jake, I mean, you're not…my dad?"

"Not really, sweetheart," Jake said, as only a father would. "But it feels like it. I don't know anything besides the life I've lived, and what I've been told to do."

She looked at him, not knowing what he meant.

"You were created," she said slowly.

Jake nodded.

"Not by me, and not by the Doctor."

Again he agreed.

"By them." She pointed at the hooded people, who were only looking back at her. Hair Gel, and Gorgeous Eyes, and Wolfe and Black and Bailey and Allen were all silent.

Jake nodded. "There was one for every one of us, more or less. We were created to protect you and surround you. There were look-alikes before us, drones, like Shireen. It wasn't easy taking them out, either. There was a Jake Tyler, a Mickey Smith, and others trying to kill you at one time."

"But…"

"We were trying to protect you from each other, not to get close. If you got too close to each other you'd remember more quickly, and we needed more time to figure out a plan."

She sort of understood.

"Who are the creators, then?" she asked, approaching the hooded people. "Are you Tecallians, then?"

She walked up to them, approaching Hair Gel first. He seemed the nicest out of the others, and would probably have no problem with what she was about to do.

She slid down the hood, seeing the spiky brown hair, the gel shining. She undid the scarf from his face, seeing all of his face.

"Captain Jack Harkness."

"Hey, Rose," he winked at her.

The same flirtations smile, flirtatious wink. And the unmistakable American accent, albeit from the 51st century. _That _was why it sounded different.

She hugged him, so glad to have Jack back. Her old friend, and new friend.

"But you were dead," she said.

He shook his head. "On the Satellite—"

Another man cleared his throat. Jack grinned. "I guess I should tell you when we get back."

Rose nodded, looking between him and Dan.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Jack grinned, knowing full well what she was thinking. "What can I say?"

"Why _did_ you make me look exactly like you?" Dan asked.

Jack shrugged. "Well, I mean, come on."

Dan grinned, knowing. "You just wanted to see what you sounded like with a British accent."

Jack grinned, looking sheepish for the first time.

Rose smiled, moving on. Her reunion with Jack would not go short-lived, she knew.

She walked up to the next one, Allen. He had already removed his hood and scarf.

He didn't look anything like Jake.

"Hello, sweetheart," he said, enveloping her in a hug.

"Dad."

The auburn-haired man she'd grown to call her father over the last year-and-a-half.

Pete Allen Tyler.

Well, not exactly her birth father, but the doppelganger. He and Rose grew very close over the time she was stuck in the alternate reality, even offering her a job at Torchwood.

"Jake looked after you good, did he?"

Rose nodded, afraid to say anything.

In one life she remembered him. Two hims to be exact. One of them dying before she was even old enough to remember him, getting hit by a car. After which, when she was nineteen, she traveled back with the Doctor and saved him, not only causing a paradox but also learning things about him that her mum never told her. That he was lazy, a slob, and a flirt. Hell, he even flirted with her before he figured out that she was his daughter. He was clever, so clever.

That was her _real_ father.

She remembered meeting this Pete Tyler, her father's alternate version of himself, who helped Rose and the Doctor destroy the Cybermen.

He was rich, successful, and lost his wife, Jackie Tyler. After the Cybermen and Daleks invaded her reality, Pete came back and took her away from the Doctor. She lived with him, and he almost immediately filled the hole that her real father had left.

That was one lifetime.

In the other, Jake had raised her, with Jackie. Then she and her dad were all alone in the world to live and Jake was more than a father, he was her friend. He hid no secrets from her, which she reciprocated and they were happy. He let her have fun and didn't treat her like a child.

She remembered when she was ten, she had an awful teacher who would make Rose stay after class and make her scrub the chalkboard every day, making excuses why she was in trouble, and failing her miserably.

Of course when her father the university teacher looked over Rose's failed tests that were terribly misgraded, he was in an uproar. Rose failed the tests, yet the answers marked wrong were in fact correct—at least, most of them.

After a near-physical fight with Jake, they learned that said teacher lost a teaching position at the university to Jake.

The teacher was fired shortly after, and after that Rose got top marks.

Looking at Pete was almost like looking at a stranger, yet it wasn't.

It was still a lot to take in.

She looked back at Pete, who gave her a look of understanding and reassurance.

"It's all right," he comforted her. "The others are eager to see you."

She smiled, looking at the others.

All but two removed their hoods.

A dark skinned man came to her, happiness, relief and unrequited love in his eyes.

He was not blond, but it was still Mickey Smith.

Bailey.

"Mickey," she hugged him, and he embraced her.

Mickey, pretty much her brother.

The same Mickey who was a computer wizard helping them the Slitheen and getting replaced by the Autons, telling her that he wasn't going to wait around for her and yet still trying to start things up again after she was trapped in the alternate reality. Helping her get back to the Satellite for the Doctor. Helping her from the Krilitines at the school with Sarah Jane. Helping Rose cope when the Doctor had left them for the French tart, only having to lose Mickey in the alternate reality, where he wanted to stay.

Like Pete, Mickey returned at the Battle of Canary Warf.

She worked along side Mickey at Torchwood as his partner in the alternate reality.

But Mickey Smith the blonde had stayed at her bedside all week long when she had caught pneumonia all week, day and night when she was fifteen. He had given her whatever she had asked for, no questions asked, and stayed with her, holding her hand and even fighting with the nurses to stay with her.

She thought she would've died that week if Mickey the blonde hadn't stayed with her.

"Why Bailey?" she asked the real Mickey.

He rolled his eyes.

"I had thought of something much better than that but he wouldn't hear any of it," Mickey—the real Mickey—replied.

"Besides," Jack grinned, slinging his arm around Mickey's shoulder. "Rickey or the Idiot would have been way too obvious."

"Rickey the Idiot?" Mickey the Blonde asked. "I was wondering where he got it from."

"He called you that, too?" Mickey—the real one—asked. "He'd call always call me that, though mostly in his big ears look. I'm telling you, he was more possessive than the girl in the Exorcist."

The two Mickey Smiths laughed.

Rose turned toward the other unmasked person.

The black girl looked up at Rose with a smile, friendship and a hint of jealousy in her eyes.

She hugged Rose, though not as long as Pete, Jack and Mickey.

"Hello, Martha," Rose smiled at her new friend.

Martha was the companion with the Doctor when he found her. Martha had been cold to Rose at first, which Rose reciprocated because both felt like they were being replaced. But after spending a few days together, they quickly warmed up to each other, becoming fast friends.

She and Martha both shared a common interest: the Doctor. Martha had admitted that she did at once have a crush on him, but now it was nothing more than a curiosity.

"I had Shireen," Martha admitted. "But I had no idea that they got her. I'm sorry. I'm glad you're okay, though."

"It's fine," Rose assured her. "It all turned out in the end. So why pick the name Black?"

Martha shrugged, grinning. "First adventure me and the Doctor went on we saw Shakespeare. Witches and…well, a bit Harry Potter as I said. And Sirius Black was always my favourite character."

Rose grinned.

A fleeting black object out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.

The two other hooded people were trying to go unnoticed.

She put a hand to Gorgeous Eyes' shoulder, gently.

"Who are you, then?" she asked him, but she knew somehow that he wouldn't give her an answer.

He wouldn't look at her as she undid the scarf and pulled the hood down.

As she saw his face, she took a step back and tears filled her eyes.

Seeing Jack was nothing compared to this.

He'd been her best friend and she thought they'd be together forever.

That was until he died. Right in front of her.

He unzipped the hood, the leather jacket underneath.

She walked up to him, examining his face, scrutinizing every detail about him. The brooding hazel eyes, watching her with curiosity and worry and comfort and the pain of his past and something else hidden deep underneath it all.

He was real.

"How…?" she gasped.

"Hello, Rose," the Ninth Doctor grinned.

She hugged him, tightly, holding him as he held her.

"You're real. You're _really_ real. You're here and you're _real_."

"I am, but Rose, this isn't—it can't…" he was at a loss of words.

But he didn't have to say anything. Seeing the last person's face said it all. She understood everything.

Wolfe.

Long blond hair cascaded down Wolfe's shoulders. That was before Rose had cut it, she mused. The roots of Wolfe's hair were showing, signalling that they had been there for a while. She wasn't sure where the Ninth Doctor and his Rose were in their time lines, but it seemed to be before they met Jack, or else he'd be with them.

Wait.

Maybe he _was_ with them.

The younger Rose was understanding and yet jealous as she watched Rose hug the Ninth Doctor.

Rose gave her younger self a knowing nod, telling her she wouldn't do anything rash like kiss him even though she was fighting everything not to.

She pulled away from his embrace, but he still held tightly to her hand.

And she was fine with that. It helped her cope.

Jack, Pete, the Doctor, Martha and the real Mickey approached them. The doubles and fakes kept their distance, politely, giving their privacy.

"Tell me," Rose implored, leaning against Nine.

She didn't want to face her Doctor.

Not yet.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about this chapter. I know it's short. But it's coming! I promise! I think I'm just delaying the inevitable that this story is ending soon :(

A short summary of my story is coming next chapter. It's gonna be a prequel to this, or even a stand-alone. I dunno know what it's gonna be called yet, and the ending's pretty clear. I mean, come on. It's a reunion fic. :D


	17. Part Of Your World part II

**Partners in Time**

Okay. This is sort of a continuation of the last chapter. I just wanted to stick with the 8 pages tradition. Well, more like the sort-of 8-pages tradition-because-sometimes-its-a-little-less-or-there-was-even-that-one-chapter-that-was-ten-pages-tradition. But I'll just shorten it and call it the 8 page tradition. :D

Anyway. Enjoy.

This is dedicated to RandomQuests who stuck to the giant Rat theory :D

* * *

**Chapter 17: Part of Your World (Part II)**

They were sitting in a circle, the doubles and fakes talking and resting away from them.

The cell—Rose had learned that they were in a Tecallian holding cell waiting to be released—was big, about the size of John's living room…the memory saddened her.

But she wouldn't deal with it. It wasn't time yet.

She remembered their reunion, but she liked to hear about it anyway, to remind her of her real life.

Besides, everyone except the Tenth Doctor and Martha didn't know how they had come to the alternate reality. Rose didn't even know.

"It took me two brilliant people to show me," the Tenth incarnation of the Doctor was explaining. "I never knew it really existed until they came. Until then I always thought it was just Time Lord myth. Of course I'm getting ahead of myself."

He paused, lost in memory.

"Mena and Mal. Two people who were found in the 16th Century. They were renowned doctors—Mal, at least. Mena posed as his wife, though they were anything but. Of course we had to see them."

He sighed. "I guess you should know it was Martha and I at that time. Jack had left, working with his team as leader of Torchwood 3. Martha and I had gone our separate ways for a short while, but after working together on Earth once more she came with me again. So it was she and I that visited Mena and Mal.

"After a visit it was apparent that two things. One was that it was not Mal that was the brilliant doctor. Mena was the real doctor, Mal assuming the role because women at that time were—" he paused, catching the death glares from both Roses and Martha.

"Er…right. The second thing was that they were out of their time. Mena's equations and treatments were far too advanced fir that century. After a long conversation, I learned that they _were _from the future, from the twenty-third century."

"But the twenty-third century…" Nine interrupted, apparently trying to find an error in his new regeneration. "They didn't have time travel until the twenty-fourth—"

"I know," Ten interrupted, testily. Obviously, the two Doctors didn't much like each other. "They told me a very interesting story. Mal is an archaeologist, and Mena was on his team. They were digging in a few Egyptian pyramids and came across a mirror or sorts. It was oddly shaped, and didn't fit in with the other artefacts. After they inadvertently activated it, they saw a gateway to something else. They touched the event horizon and were instantly sent through, arriving in the sixteenth century. At first, they thought they were in another world."

"But they weren't," Nine interjected, apparently understanding what Ten was talking about. "Not really."

Ten nodded. "After hearing their story, I knew what caused this. They stumbled through the Quantum Mirror."

"The Quantum Mirror?" the younger Rose raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Like from Stargate SG-1?"

"Who do you think they got the idea from?" Ten looked annoyed, but not at her, rather the memory. "Granted, that was the only truthful thing Jonathan took. Unlike Rodenberry who took the whole history of Earth space travel…"

"Hold on," Martha interjected. "Rodenberry? Like _Gene_ Rodenberry? The guy who wrote Star Trek? That's real?"

"Oh, yes," Ten said, sharing a grave understanding look with his previous self, who was nodding at the memory. "Nice fellow, too. Took him for a few trips until I learned he was making a series out of the files he found in the TARDIS logs. Kicked him off at his doorstep. Mind you, I did like the show. Tell you what I think that Adam bloke would've liked him—"

He was interrupted by his predecessor, who impatiently cleared his throat.

"The story," Nine pushed.

Ten grinned. "Right. So they were from another reality. Problem was, they didn't remember where they had landed. Blanked out. So we didn't know where to find the mirror. Luckily, it wasn't long or hard to find it. Martha, stop laughing."

He shot a look at Martha, who was doing a very bad job of stifling her laughter. She shrugged sheepishly, grinning.

"_Anyway,"_ Ten gave a mock-glare at Martha. "We would find the mirror eventually because more things were coming through the it. Not from Mal and Mena's reality, but from another. Apparently the Time Lord Councils of every reality made a treaty to deactivate the mirrors in their respective realities because they were getting to be too dangerous. But once one mirror was activated in one reality, they all were.

"So, we had these things after us. We didn't know what they were, because they were cloaked, but they were wreaking havoc in the town. Bandits, really. So, Martha, Mena, Mal and me—" He paused, thinking over what he said. "All M's. Hmph. I never really noticed that—"

Nine cleared his throat again.

"Right, yes, sorry. Where was I? Oh, yes. So we followed them, and stopped them. Demanded to be brought to the mirror. And of course, the leader of the bandits were all afraid of me. Apparently I'm a legend in their reality. So they stopped, left. And then—Martha, stop laughing."

"I know, but they were—" Martha was saying through laughter.

"Okay, all right. So, they remove their cloaks when I asked them what they were. Martha?"

"Giant rats!" Martha chimed in, laughing. "The bandits were giant rats!"

"Extremely intelligent and greedy—" Ten started.

"And ugly—" Martha and Ten said at the same time.

"Giant rats." Ten finished. "So, after we banished them, they returned to their reality. Now the tricky part was going to find Mena and Mal's realities."

He smiled at the memory. "I took them back to the TARDIS to see if I could find some tracker for their reality signatures. After trying just about everything—"

"Except the sonic screwdriver," Martha interjected, referencing an inside joke.

He gave a mock glare at her, reminding Rose of her own relationship with him. It comforted her and hurt her at the same time.

Ten continued. "I started to give up hope. And that was when I learned their real names."

He grinned, looking directly at Rose. "Mena's full name was Philomena Avril Delarosa. Which meant 'Lover of the Moon' and 'Forthcoming of the Rose.' And Mal's full name was Mal Lyadas, meaning—"

"Bad Wolf," Rose and Nine said together.

Ten grinned. "So I knew that what I was looking for was right in front of me all along. After practically spending weeks and a couple months trying to track them, I realized I was missing one thing. I was looking in the wrong place. It wasn't written in their biology of where they were from. It was all around them. Remember the 3-D glasses, Rose?"

"Void stuff!" she and Ten said at the same time.

"And not just any kind of void stuff. It was a certain kind for every reality. Sort of like cookies on the internet. Different computers remember different things, even if it's on the same website. So, with every reality, it's different nanogynes. Using my sonic screwdriver, I tracked where they were from and sent them home.

"I liked those two. They were so close friends, and I think anyone could tell they were in love with each other. Anyone except those two. They didn't realise until they were in a holding cell pleading for their lives. I tell you, it took a miracle to get those two to realise their feelings."

"Sounds like a pair of the same couples in this room," Jack said, grinning and receiving a glare from two Roses and two Doctors.

"And I had a new hope in me," Ten continued, ignoring Jack's comment. All bubbling up and making me keep going, at least moreso than usual. I was genuinely happy. I found a way to get you back."

"But you didn't have me to track or whatever," Rose narrowed her eyes, confused.

"Didn't need to," Ten grinned. "Remember, I travelled to your reality. And a few others, too, in fact. It took me a while to separate the different ones, until I finally got it right. Then I was on my way. I took the TARDIS, just in case. It didn't look like it would fit, but remember, Time Lord technology. So, we came to your universe. Though I was over a year late. But I came, anyway. And I was so happy to see you, Rose, you couldn't even imagine."

Rose gave a weak smile. She didn't meet his eyes. She hadn't yet. She wondered if he even noticed.

"Of course, you were out working at the time. Jackie answered the door, the littlest Tyler in her arms. Jake, wasn't it?" he looked at Pete, who nodded. "And Jackie welcomed me back—"

"After smacking you a few times—" Martha added.

"And I waited until you and Rickey and Pete all came home. And, after a lengthy conversation which near turned into an argument, you lot came with me, back to your home—except for Pete who left his reality to be with his family. So, after dropping Pete, Jackie, Jake, and Mickey home, Rose, Martha and I travelled a bit. About twice, really."

"Until we came here," Rose said, gravely. Ten nodded.

"Rose and I were captured by the Tecallians. Martha escaped into the TARDIS, and after I gave her the right sequence, she programmed the Emergency Protocol Number 624. She landed in Cardiff just in time…and then what?"

"Where I was," Jack picked up the story. "In 2008. A year after I left you two. After Martha explained to me what had happened…we had to go back. Of course, we had no idea how to fly the TARDIS. But there was only one other person we knew that could be able to. We sent out a distress call, and a little while after that we heard another TARDIS engine. And the Doctor and Rose stepped out. Well…the younger ones."

Jack grinned. "It felt so good to see them again. I missed them, both of them—no offence, Doc—" He said, referring to Ten.

"None taken."

"But they hadn't even met me yet. After I explained the situation to the two they hitched the TARDIS onto theirs and came here. Pete and Mickey came, too. We called them. So, we came here, snuck into the little reality you guys made, undetected by the Tecallians. I'm glad we had the Doctor helping us, we would've never gotten in. Or if we had we would've gotten caught."

"How _did _you manage that?" Ten asked.

"The jackets," Nine chimed in. "Jack had mentioned pretty boy—"

"Oi!"

"—using the TARDIS keys as perception filters. Which gave me an idea. We had to use something that would cloak ourselves not only our bodies but also our minds. So, I used a few jackets in the wardrobe and turned them into perception filters. The scarves I used because if they were watching us, our faces would be hidden. We were already on the records from the information that got from your memories."

"Oh," was all Rose could say.

It was a lot to take in.

She looked at the other Rose, who only tried to hide the resentment and jealousy from her older self. But Rose saw it, and understood it.

The Doctor had gone through great lengths to see her again. It wasn't Rose that he chased, but another, older version of her. And that made the younger jealous and angry.

After all, she was in love with the Doctor, too.

Both Roses cuddled against Nine, who was grinning. Suffice to say certain thoughts were crossing his mind.

A cold look from Ten only made his cheeky grin widen.

And Jack was grinning, copying Nine.

Rose was drifting off to sleep, and she could feel her other self doing the same, both against either side of Nine.

She didn't want the other Rose to be there.

She wanted him all to herself.

"So, how long do you think they'll keep us here?" she vaguely heard Jack ask.

"Probably another hour or so," she heard Ten reply. "Tecallians are smart; we only talked to the scientists. They'll have elected a new leader by now, I assume, hopefully not a tyrant like that Shireen girl…"

She drifted off to sleep, not hearing him anymore.

----

"Hey," she was woken up by a gently nudge.

Rose looked up to see the Ninth Doctor looking down on her, smiling.

It wasn't all a dream.

Still, she remembered better who she was and the life she really lived. The fake one seemed to fade away more, leaving all but a faint scar of memory, like a dream.

She smiled, looking into her old Doctor's eyes.

"Hey," she replied, seeing him smile again.

She looked at her surroundings. The holding cell, again. Yet this time it was different. Ten was gone.

"Where's the Doctor?" she asked Nine, who only grinned cheekily.

"Right here."

"I meant—"

"I know." he grinned at her again, slightly-patronizingly. "He's off talking to the new leader. They're gonna let us go."

Rose smiled at him, feeling all the reassurance and comfort radiating from him. She snuggled closer to him, inhaling the scent of leather.

The door opened, Ten coming in. A skinny Tecallian with light blue skin followed, with purple eyes.

Rose didn't realize how humanoid they looked. Only a few inches shorter than the Doctor with a certain air about it, as if it were the leader. Most likely, that was the case. Two arms, two legs, except the nails were purple talons, looking as if manicured. The Tecallian leader wore a pink skirt-like bottom with fancy designs, and a brown simple top, hugging unseen curves.

It was a female.

Her hair was purple, long and flowing in a long French-braid sort of style. On the forehead were two short lavender horns.

"Hello," she greeted, her voice smooth and with a thick accent. "I am Tala Mauvias, newly appointed leader of the Tecallians. My deepest apologies for what you have gone through. My people had no idea that this program was running. The scientists helping are receiving full time incarceration and the proper punishments are being served. As for our previous leader, Acacia, her ways will no longer be governing our people. I assure you that Tecal will return to its previous state, peaceful, and truthful, as you once remembered it, Doctor."

Tala smiled at Ten, beautiful white teeth a bit jagged. "And you will be able to leave safely, without any threat from us."

"Thank you," Ten said.

Tala turned toward the doubles and fakes. "As for the programme, it is to be terminated. Though, how I will separate you from it, is beyond me. You may either go with the Doctor and his companions to Earth, or continue living peacefully on Tecal. And, if you chose to go to Earth, you can always come back here."

"What is she talking about?" Rose whispered to Nine.

"They're not just clones anymore," he whispered back to her. "They're not just fakes, either. We're not Tecallians, which mean that what we create becomes reality. They're alive, human, and perhaps the first of this time to be human and not born on Earth."

She looked at the blonde Mickey Smith, Jake Tyler, Ronnie Mars…wait a minute. Veronica Mars?

"Rose?" she asked her younger self, incredulously. "Is Ronnie…I mean….did you…did you create Ronnie?"

Rose nodded, sharing a smile with her older self. "Veronica Mars. Do you remember that? Mum always loved to watch her on the telly. Couldn't come up with anything clever that would fit in."

"It was a bit obvious, though. Probably dangerous to do that," Rose reprimanded her. "I wouldn't have done that," she muttered under her breath, but the younger caught it anyway.

----

It was an hour and a half later.

Jake, Dan, Mickey and Ronnie had decided to come with them. After all, even though it wasn't really Earth, they had sort-of grown up there. And the Tecallians were very much unlike them.

As Mickey—both of them—had said, they were too much like Vulcans. Not enough emotion, and not the exploring type. That was why they had to dig into alien's memories.

They were led to another holding cell by Tala, and when they opened the door, there was not a single human or Time Lord who wasn't happy to see the sight.

There were the TARDISes, side-by-side, waiting to go home.

Ten turned to Tala. "Thank you. I mean, really. I hope everything goes well for me."

"I don't think that'll be a problem, Doctor," she smiled, as if to say 'I-know-something-and-you-don't.' "I have a very good feeling that this is meant to be."

"How'd you mean?" Rose asked.

"I read through your memories," Tala admitted. "To see what to do with you before I came here. It is not a mistake that I was the new leader, nor that you came here. I don't know if it is now, but we three are connected, somehow. You see, my name Tala-Mauvias is my family name, then given name. In the order of your customs, in English, my name would translate to 'Bad Wolf.'"

She smiled at Rose, giving her a friendly look. "We will meet again. I only hope it is on better circumstances. If you will excuse me, I will take my leave. It is Tecallian custom not to see the departure of others to other worlds. We want to build our own technology without inspiration of others."

She bowed at the group, exiting the door.

"So," Dan started, looking at Nine. "Are we going with you or the other you?"

"I'm afraid you're gonna have to go with Pretty-boy—"

"Oi! At least I don't have big ears!"

"At least he has better fashion!" the younger Rose argued, defending her Doctor.

Nine looked pleased.

"Oh, you're one to talk!" Rose argued with her younger self. "Look at _you_! I don't know what I was thinking."

Ten had the same smug expression on his face as Nine.

"Oh, go suck a lemon!" said the younger one. "You're just jealous cause my Doctor's better."

"Suck a lemon?" Rose asked, incredulously. "Isn't that like from the 90's?"

"Hey, I'm you! You said the same thing when you were in my position, you chav!"

"I was young and stupid back then! At least now I'm not smart enough to call myself a chav!"

"That's it!" the two Roses lunged at each other, pulling hair and pushing each other.

Much to Dan's, Jack's, the two Mickey's and especially the two Doctor's entertainment.

"What's wrong with them?" Ronnie asked Ten, who was watching with a smug grin.

Men.

"Two of the same people from two separate points of their time line," he explained almost-absentmindedly, not taking his eyes off of them. "Makes them act very different from usual toward each other. Time Lords don't have it as bad as humans do. Apparently."

"Go bleach your roots!" Rose shouted.

Ten turned toward his counterpart, opening his mouth to speak when Nine interrupted.

"Don't even think about it," Nine stated.

"I wasn't even going to say that," Ten replied.

"Then how'd you know that's what I was thinking then if you weren't thinking that? I _am_ you, remember."

Ten chose to ignore that. "D'you think we should put a stop to this?"

"Already?"

"Before my Rose kills your Rose and there's no Rose for either of us?" Ten pushed.

Nine sighed. "All right, but it's not everyday you get to see two Rose Tylers fighting over us."

"If only," Ten replied, grinning.

"Rose!" they shouted in unison.

Both Roses stopped, the older one attempting to pull out the roots that were brown, the other shoving her hand in the older's face, holding her back.

"As much as I would like to see how this ends," Ten started, he and his younger self giving identical cheeky grins. "We should get going home."

The two Roses trudged back to their respective Doctors.

Rose didn't know what got into her. It was as if she had been under a sort of spell…what was the point in fighting with herself anyway? She mused.

She looked at a faint movement on her arm.

The scars. Lines and lines of scars. She looked at the other Rose and saw scratches on her, bleeding. She always wondered how she got those.

Her punishment, she guessed, for letting irrationality take over.

And no, she wasn't defending the Doctor either. Not Ten, anyway. Ten already said loud and clear what she was to him. Perhaps the Doctor's feelings left him when he regenerated.

She kept her distance, staying near Martha and Jack.

The group looked at the two Doctors, who were side-by-side, looking at the two TARDIS-es side-by-side.

"So," they said in unison. "Which one's mine?"

* * *

A/N: NOT the ending. Still a few more chapters to go. Yes, my friend requested a catfight with the two Roses. (males, I tell you. Chauvinists—sorry to any male reviewers out there :D) Hope you liked it. I know it was a little OOC. But all in the name of humour!

Actually there is a theory I heard about time travel like that. Something like if you run into your self you'd be aggressive toward each other or something like that. It sounded cool. Jeez. And this is ten pages long! Bad Me!


	18. Once Upon A Dream

**Partners in Time**

Okay. This is officially the third to last chapter. I'm crying now. Well, half. Because I'm gonna do a prequel. All information will be announced on the last chapter's author notes.

To everyone who asked about the Rose-fight last chapter: see the way I see it, since the two Doctors can always come into physical contact (and do) I think the whole reason for the paradox in FD when Rose touched the baby was that the her personal timeline was already messed up, therefore touching the baby who's father had not died but was supposd to would create another paradox. However, since this meeting was all supposed to happen in Nine and younger Rose's future timeline and our Rose and Ten's past, it doesn't create a paradox because it's supposed to happen anyway.

Wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey stuff.

100 reviews on both FFN and Teaspoon! Wow! I'd like to thank all my reviewers on both FanFiction and Teaspoon for all your support. Without them, I would've never finished or probably even made a second chapter for this story. :D I love all you guys!

Anyway. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 18: ****Once Upon A Dream**

"Here we are, then," The Tenth Doctor said, as they landed. He looked at the big group behind him. "London, Powell Estates, 2008."

Pete. Mickey. Jack. Martha. Rose. Jake. Mickey. Dan. Ronnie.

Rose ran out, without a word. She had to see her. She had to see the woman who she had remembered in one life being brutally murdered.

"Mum." She was in Jackie's arm the second the door opened, sobbing.

"Where's the Doctor?" Jackie asked, the slightest bit angry. "If he's gone and left you…"

"You know that'll never happen, Jackie," Ten reassured her, the gang behind him.

Jackie swooped him up in a hug, and then dropped him when she saw the people behind him.

Jackie nearly fainted when she saw the other Rose.

"What's going on?" she asked, letting them all in, reluctantly. "Who's all this? And what's Big Ears doing here?"

"Honestly!" Nine said, annoyed. "What's everyone got against the ears?"

"Absolutely nothing," the younger Rose said, patting him on the arm.

They grinned at each other.

"Mum…" Rose started. "I've got a story to tell you."

---

They had sat down, twelve tea cups setting around the living room table, neatly.

Jackie had put Jake, Jackie and Pete's one year old son to sleep, and she was sitting next to Pete on the couch.

Jack was sitting in between Ronnie and Dan, the only difference between the doppelgangers was the clothing.

Rose—the older one—was sitting next to Nine, who was also sitting next to the blond Mickey. The younger Rose had been talking to Ten, flirting a little to Rose's dislike, and the two were seated on the floor next to Martha, Jake and the real Mickey in between the two couches where Rose and Nine sat and where Jackie and Pete sat.

They had finished telling Jackie most of the story. Most.

Leaving out some details.

Like that she was murdered.

Or that Jake was married to her.

Or the relationship that John and Rose had developed.

It would've led to…awkwardness.

Jackie set down her tea cup, looking at Rose. "I'm glad you're all right, sweetheart."

"Likewise, mum," Rose said, before she could stop herself. But she could just write it off as agreeing that Rose was all right later.

"I was thinking, Jacks," Pete started. "I've still got my money from our old home. And more coming in. We could give them a proper home. I mean, this place _is_ very big."

"Well…we do need someone to look after Jake," Jackie agreed, then looked up at the man, Jake Tyler. "Not you. Our son."

Jake nodded.

"Of course," Pete added, knowing that it would be very uncomfortable for Jake for him to live with them. He had sort of experienced the same thing himself. "If you want, since you've already had experiences with aliens, we could get you lined up at Torchwood. All of you."

"We could be on the same team!" the two Mickeys said to each other, grinning.

Jake nodded at Pete, silently thanking him.

The mood shifted uncomfortably, the atmosphere changing to awkwardness at so many unsaid things.

"Well," Jackie said, getting up. "I think I better go check on Jake."

"So, Dan," Jack said, half-flirtatious and half serious. "How would your gorgeous self like to work with me at Torchwood 3?"

"Really?" Dan asked, grinning. "I'd love that. Do I get any benefits?"

"Oh, I think you'll get plenty of benefits working with me," Jack replied, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Dan wrinkled his nose. "You know, just because you created me doesn't mean I'm loose."

"Don't be too sure about that," Jack grinned.

Nobody said anything about what had happened on Tecal. It was too much to deal with.

-----

Rose was in her room, her _real _room, lying on her _real_ bed.

She tried hard not to think of him.

The way he would call her on the phone at just the right moment, as if he knew that she needed someone to talk to. The way he'd talk to her when they were together, as if they knew each other their whole lives. The way his flat was always a mess when she came over. The way he held her while watching a film, snuggling close to her on the couch. The way he defended her when other people were trying to hurt her, even complete strangers. The way he respected her, not getting into a relationship or voicing his feelings for fear of losing her. The way he kissed her like she was the one thing in the world that could save him. The way he made love to her, letting her make the choice so he would never rush things.

The way he made her happy because they could be together, without worrying of anything else.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She knew this was it; letting go of this sadness would ultimately make her start her grieving.

Because she felt that her best friend and lover, John Smith had indeed died.

The first tears spilled over, running down her cheek when she heard a knock at the door.

She brushed the tears away with her fingers, taking a deep breath to control her voice, looking in the mirror until she felt that the tears were well-hidden.

"Come in!" she called, sitting up on the bed.

She was expecting him; maybe if he came and talked to her it would fix everything.

But she knew him—she knew this incarnation of him, the present one. He wouldn't talk to her. He'd leave it all unspoken, continuing on like nothing happened.

She was expecting him, and well, it was, just not quite the him she was expecting.

"Ah, good you're in here," Nine said, grinning.

_Where else would I be?_ She wanted to snap back. But she didn't. It wasn't the Doctor she was mad at…well, it was, but it wasn't _this_ Doctor she was mad at but the future Doctor…her head hurt.

"So…" she started.

"So." He said. He shifted uncomfortably. Rose wondered if he regretted coming in."New me, huh?"

"Yeah," Rose smiled, weakly. "Still miss your daft face, though."

He caught her look, the one she was trying so hard to hide.

"Come here," he wrapped his arms around her, holding her and comforting her.

She allowed a few tears to spill down her cheeks, involuntary. She placed her head on his chest, listening to the beat of his two hearts.

"How long are you staying here?" she murmured.

"Not much longer. We have to go back to our timeline," he replied, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Am I ever gonna see you again?" she asked.

"I'm with you," he replied, not only meaning that the younger Rose was with him, but that she still had Ten.

He felt her tense.

"Rose," he started, sighing. "I can't know anything about my future. Not how I regenerate, not what you two have right now. But…I'm not going to remember this. You didn't remember this, _he_ doesn't remember this happening. So, we're going to forget."

He looked down at her, the angle a little awkward. She could only see him out of the corner of her eye.

"Tell me everything."

She sighed, taking a deep breath. She told him about Jack, about the Satellite, about how she had absorbed the Time Vortex and how he had died saving her. She had remembered, now, the memories unlocked from Tecal. She told him of their new adventures.

And how he'd lost her to the Battle of Canary Warf.

"Rose," the Doctor started, after she finished. He seemed wise beyond his years, now. "I can't speak for my new self. But I can say this: I know we both care a lot for you. You know _I _do. I died for you, Rose Tyler."

"I know what it's like to watch people change. Right in front of you. You should know that better than anyone else, watching me change into…well, him. But you have to remember, Rose, we're the same people. We may sound different, we may have different limitations, but we're still the same person. Feelings don't go away with changes."

She knew what he was saying. Not just about his regeneration. About John.

Feelings…

She looked up at him, staring into his gorgeous blue eyes.

She wanted to kiss him so badly.

So she did.

She pressed her lips to his lightly, briefly, a small chaste kiss. She felt him still under her, not sure what to do.

She pulled back, slightly blushing. "I-I'm sorry," she said. "I-I just…"

She trailed off when she saw him looking at her, his eyes searching for something.

And this time he kissed her, all but chaste this time. Their mouths moved against each other, passionately, tongues dancing and duelling.

And then he pushed her away, gently.

"Stop," he stated, resting his forehead against hers. "We can't."

She bit her own lip, feeling guilty. "I'm not her," she said, understanding.

"And I'm not him."

She looked up at him, realizing what he meant. He understood how she felt for her Doctor now, after all this time. Which meant that_ he_ did too. And if _this_ Doctor loved her now, then maybe hers did, too…?

She turned back in his arms, resting her head on his chest.

"Rose," he started, sighing again. "I'm not all too good at saying what I want to say, and…Suppose I should now. You mean a lot to us. You saved us."

He paused. "Do you remember when we first met?"

"You blew up my shop."

"But it was so much fun!" the Doctor grinned. Then he became more serious, continuing. "After the Time War, I was ready to just give up. What was the point of being in the universe if you were the last one? I was alone, completely alone. I would go headfirst in danger sometimes not _wanting_ to come back. Until I met you."

She smiled, letting him continue. "You were the one who brightened my life. Made me feel like I wasn't alone. I meant it when I said I was so glad I met you. I felt that my life had some meaning. You saved me. You saved _us_ and you didn't even realize. I think that was one of the reasons why we fell in love with you."

She froze, unsure of what to say.

His next words rung out in her mind, and Rose wondered for a moment if he had read her thoughts.

"Don't leave him."

She looked down, unsure of what to say.

"Why are you saying all of this?" Rose asked him. "To me? You should be out there telling _her._"

"I could," the Doctor mused. "And we could do something about it, now. We could have the best memory right now if I went over there and told her. But in the end we won't remember it. I couldn't do that to her. To you."

"Yeah, I could wind up with a baby all of a sudden," Rose remarked.

She felt that patronizing look.

"What?" she asked. "Time Lords and humans can't…?"

"Dance?" the Doctor helped. He smiled at her puzzled face at his reference. "I read the journal. 'The Doctor Dances' sounds like it was…would be…fun. We dance."

"To Glen Miller."

"And Jack sounds—and I have met his future self—like I'll have a handful."

"So, Time Lords and humans do…dance then?" Rose asked, back to the subject.

"Oh, yes. I'm living proof of that."

"You're half-human?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yep." Popped the 'p'.

She playfully smacked him with the pillow. "All the stupid-ape things, then?"

He grinned. "It's a…rare process. It's a one-in-five-hundred-thousand chance that a baby is born."

"So, we'll just have to keep dancing then." Rose said, matter of factly, and the Doctor grinned.

"Can the other you join in?"

She smacked him playfully. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were hanging around Jack too much in Tecal."

He smiled, caressing her hand. She felt him shift beneath her, getting up. He headed toward the door, stopping and looking back at her.

"Just…think about it," he said.

"What, me and the other me?" Rose quipped.

He grinned, cheekily. "Well…if you want, there's that, too."

He started out the door.

"Doctor?" she called, watching his head pop back in there.

"Yes?" he called back.

"Can the other you join in then, too?"

"Uh, no." And with that he walked out.

Rose felt much better.

----

A few hours later and they were saying goodbye to each other.

The Ninth Doctor and Rose were leaving, to go back to their own timelines.

As a group they had already said goodbye, to Pete, Jackie, the two Mickeys, Martha, Jack, Dan, Jake and Ronnie.

They had left the two Doctors and the two Roses to say goodbye, in Nine's TARDIS.

Currently, they were in the younger Rose's bedroom, ready to remove the memories.

Rose approached her younger self, the urge to pull her brown roots out nearly gone.

"So, what was your last adventure?" older Rose asked.

"We just left Dad," the younger said, not meeting her other self's gaze.

"Got along with this Pete, then?" asked the elder.

"Just like him, isn't he?" the younger smiled. She dropped the smile. "Is this gonna hurt?"

Rose shook her head. "I don't really remember. All I remember is waking up in the TARDIS safe and sound in the bed, though I don't remember how I got there."

"And the Doctor?"

"That's the weird thing. He's asleep in his bed, too." She grinned, everything making sense now. "He's great. Just don't ever forget how good he is."

"He changes," the younger said, indicating Ten. "Do we still love him?"

"Yeah," Rose admitted. "Always and forever."

Ten approached them, looking at the younger. "You keep ol Big Ears in line, got it?"

The younger Rose nodded as he placed his fingers gently on her temple.

"Thank you," Rose said to her younger self, before the younger went unconscious.

Ten caught her around the waist, Nine helping him lay her gently in the bed, under the covers.

After the younger girl was secured in her covers, Ten and Nine met eyes.

They walked him to his room.

Rose had never seen the inside of the Doctor's room, either one of them. It was a mess to say the least, books scattered everywhere, devices laying on the dressers. No clothes, she noticed, except for a few scarves. And…a bag of Jelly-babies?

Ten said his goodbye to his previous self, telling him to watch out for Captain Jack. Rose knew it was awkward, saying goodbye to a past self. What was he to say? Good luck? Don't die?

Ten placed his fingers on Nine's temples, closing his eyes.

"You know what you're doing." Nine stated, not talking to Ten, looking at Rose.

Rose nodded, before Nine's eyes rolled up and then he fell, unconscious on the bed.

Ten and Rose helped him, tucking him tightly inside the covers.

"Was I always that heavy?" Ten remarked.

Rose kissed Nine on the forehead, thanking him. She would miss him.

As the two walked out of the past-TARDIS, Ten took out his sonic screwdriver, pointed it at the doors. The engine started, and before long it disappeared.

Rose stared at the space where it had been.

"Whenever you're ready," the Doctor said, turning back toward the TARDIS.

Rose thought it over, thinking about what Nine had said. About how she felt about him.

She knew what she was going to do.

----

She and the Doctor walked back into the TARDIS.

Holding her head high, she walked to him, looking him straight in the eye, only saying two words.

"I'm leaving."

* * *

A/N: No! That's not the end of it! gasps How could I? Rose leaving the Doctor? Why would she? After everything Nine said to her? I hope you like it. I really hope you do. Two more chapters to go.

I love you guys. Really. You've been so awesome, I'm gonna cry when this is over.


	19. BrownEyed Girl

**Partners in Time**

Noo!!! This is the second to last chapter! Only one more chapter to go after this! Of course, don't worry; the prequel will be coming shortly! It might go a bit slower because of school.

I love all my reviewers. You guys have been great. I've never had so many reviewers!

Anyway. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 19: My Brown-Eyed Girl**

She watched him, watched his reaction.

A part of her wanted him so badly to tell her all the reasons why she should stay, or at least maybe just look a little forlorn at her announcement.

Maybe go after her, do something different and not act so much like _him._

But he didn't. Instead he stood there, his gaze piercing hers and she could almost feel his stare touch her soul, trying to tell if she was serious or not.

And she was. She had her reasons.

He didn't say anything as she walked past him, heading down the TARDIS corridors. First left, second right, third to the left, straight ahead, under the stairs past the bins. Fifth door to the left.

She silently skimmed over the wardrobe of the TARDIS, the large wardrobe. How many hours had she spent here, trying to make herself look as good as possible, hoping that today, just maybe he might notice?

She walked over to the rack set aside for her. He had told her how he had given his other companions a rack or two for their own clothes. And now she had her very own, hanging the clothes that she could no longer fit in the closet of her room.

Without even thinking about it, she took all of her clothes off, hangers and all, folding them over her forearm as she headed out.

She wanted to make this as quick and painless as possible.

Walking by the mirror she caught a glimpse of herself.

Was that really her?

The cut from her forehead where Shireen's blaster had hit her was caked with dried blood, though healing nicely.

The wound she had worried had almost pierced her lung was much smaller than it looked, the blood making it appear much larger than it was.

The cuts from the bits of broken glass from the lamp she had used to hit Shireen with were healing, only mere paper cuts and blisters.

But the real wounds were deeper than that.

Her eyes were worn, heavy circles underneath. The skin around them was red and swollen, her eyes red, only a little. The edge of her nose was red and puffy, as if she had been out in the cold. Her expression was as if she had been through the war and back.

Suddenly, she envied her past self. She knew that the other Rose she had met was out there in the blitz, flirting with Captain Jack and dancing with her Doctor, completely unaware of what her future held for her. The pain and suffering.

She walked back to her room, telling herself this was the only way she could remove the look from her face.

As she walked back to her room, she thought about him. How he had risked everything to save her, _her_ of all people, a girl from London, 2007, who had met him in a shop. A human girl. And it was a hell of an age gap.

He shouldn't have come back for her. It would've been better, in the long run.

She started to pack, hoping almost every agonizing second that he would just open the door and tell her not to go.

She packed the clothes from the wardrobe first in a small bag she had brought when she came here, wanting to save the hardest for the last.

The things on her dresser.

The little things he would buy for her on worlds. All for her.

As she was folding a pair of pants, she felt something inside one of the pockets. Something long and hard.

Pulling it out, she saw it was a small metal box. In it was a small little box, gift wrapped, and an envelope. _Rose: Read first_ was scrawled out in jagged letters.

She opened the letter first.

She noticed it was dated the night he had turned back to the Doctor.

_Rose,_

_If you're reading this—and I know this sounds like the biggest cliché I've ever said in my life—it means I'm either dead or another person. And that also means you're back to your old self._

_In any case, Rose, I just want you to remember one thing: I still am the same person. No matter what. Changing doesn't mean anything. I was the Doctor long before you met me, as John Smith or as the Doctor. _

_I know how the Doctor felt about you; he feels like I do. He loves you, Rose. And if you don't believe me, read the journal._

_I know how upset you must be. Looking at him must feel like a slap in the face. It's going to be hard for him, too. Mainly because he understands what you're feeling. You're just like the Rose I know, but he knows he's not like the me you know. _

_All this stuff is getting confusing._

Rose felt tears come to the back of her eyes. So much like John.

_Rose. My beautiful Rose. Don't cry._

She nearly laughed. He knew her too well.

_Do you want to know who John Smith is, really? I've figured it out. I know why I am human, why I live in London and why I am with you the way I am. It's because it's what _he_ wants. I know how he feels. He wants to be human, he wants to be able to come home and see his beautiful blonde waiting for him with open arms everyday. Everything he's dreamt up as for me, and done as me, it was all real. He wants it, whether he voices it or not. He loves you._

_I love you._

_John Smith and his life may not be real, but what he wants and what he feels is. Do you know how I know he wants that? Because I want that. With you. Marriage. Kids. A house. I know he wouldn't mind a few more little people skipping around the TARDIS._

_It feels so weird. Maybe this is what it felt like when the Doctor turned into John Smith in 1913._

_I never told you about that, did I? I thought of it as an episode. I guess it's true. I always wished you were in there, but I don't know why you weren't. I mean, I knew why. The season finale. The one I never wanted to write because I lost you. _

_Anyway. This time the Doctor and his new companion were running from these people. A family. They could track him anywhere. So he changed to a human to blend in. When it came time to change back because the Family left him no choice, he was so scared. John Smith the façade._

_I'm too proud, Rose. I don't want to be the façade. I don't want to go out there and face them. But I have to. I can't live a lie. _

_Just know how much I love you, Rose. _

_Know how much he loves you._

_And if he doesn't want to admit it, give him a swift kick in the bottom for me. Remind him._

_And don't leave him. Please. I know that if you ever left me—John Smith—I wouldn't go on._

_And I'm afraid of what the Doctor would be capable of._

_He'd do anything for you, Rose. He even once decided that he would live out his regeneration with you, growing old with you until it was time to regenerate again. And he would refuse. He did die of old age, once, and I remember the Master didn't regenerate._

_It's possible._

_Rose, what I'm trying to say is that I know that it's difficult to look at him because you see me but you have to remember sweetheart that he _is_ me. He feels just like I do for you if not more._

_Please. Whatever you do. Don't leave him. Don't leave us._

_And remember. I love you._

_--John._

_P.S. Rose. I was going to give you this in a couple of weeks. I knew it was kind of soon since we only knew each other a couple of months, but I felt…well, just open it._

She placed the letter down, tears in her eyes. She didn't know what to say. Sure, she had heard the Ninth Doctor say something similar, that the Doctor and John were really the same person.

But hearing it from John, it made it all sound…more real.

She placed the letter aside, toying with the small wrapped up box. She just hoped it wasn't what she thought it was.

Carefully, she tore off the wrapping paper.

A small box.

She opened it, tears blurring her vision.

A silver ring, a diamond in the centre.

A small note was attached.

_Marry me._

She cried, harder than ever.

----

He was going to walk into her room, maybe see if she needed help.

After all, he knew this wasn't the end. It couldn't be.

Maybe she'd leave, and maybe there'd be some alien later around. She'd investigate and he would too and they'd run into each other again.

He'd ask her to go with him and if she said no he'd ask her again.

And maybe this time he would just have to ask her a third time.

His hearts broke at her words. She couldn't leave. Couldn't, shouldn't and he'd always thought wouldn't.

_How long are you gonna stay with me?_

_Forever._

He didn't know why she was leaving him; he knew that whatever it was, though, he wouldn't push it. Too much had happened in Tecal, he knew.

He passed her room, hearing her sobbing. Guilt and regret washed over him. This was his fault after all. He wanted so badly to just go over there and walk through the door and comfort her. Tell her it was all better.

But he couldn't; there was nothing he could do or say to make the choice for her to stay.

He walked back to the console room, sitting down on a chair that the TARDIS put down for him.

He would wait for her. To talk.

----

She headed out of her room, the bags slung over her shoulder.

She didn't want to do this. John told her not to. But maybe…just for a bit. Maybe a week or two. He could wait a minute and just pop the TARDIS into next month.

And he wouldn't be alone; he had Martha and Jack already, too. Three's company, four's a crowd.

"Rose?" she saw him sitting down on a chair, glasses on with a curious look about him. "Are you really going to leave?"

_No._

"Yes," she said, meaning it.

"J-just…okay. You're leaving. For how long?"

"I dunno. I just need time to think about all this," she replied.

"All what?" he asked, looking at her.

Oh, God. He looked so much like John.

That made her snap.

"All _what?_I'll tell you what! I can't be…thrown around like this. It's just, it's hard, all right? One minute you're him and we can be together and then now you're…you! I can't take it anymore. And that's why I'm leaving."

"Rose," the Doctor said, listening to her and probably deciding she was mad. He didn't know, did he?

"You can push your feelings deep down and pretend it never happened, but I can't." She said, turning back on him.

"I'm not denying anything. Everything I said and did as John Smith I meant it."

"I know," she sighed. How long had she been wanting to hear that? "It took me two other yous to tell me. But it's bad. For both of us. Because I can spend the rest of my life with you, and you can't spend the rest of your life with me."

"Is that why you're leaving?" he asked, looking up at her. He was trying so hard to hide the pain…she could see tears starting to form at the back of his eyes.

"I really don't know. I just…need to get away for a while. I think it's better for the both of us." Rose told him. "I mean, you know how I feel about you. And if you still feel like you did in your last incarnation and as John, then it's better if I leave now. I don't—I don't want to cause you any pain later."

He took a step toward her. She backed away. He stood facing her, about two feet between them.

"Rose." He started. "Please. Stay. It'll be more pain if you leave."

"We can't be together." She snapped. "You said that yourself."

"I did?" he mused. "Obviously I wasn't thinking straight that day. Rose, look at me. I am John. I want all the things he had. In a way, I'm jealous of myself. He had the life I always wanted. You, right there, with him. I want that with you."

"But you're the Doctor, you can't," Rose protested, tears pooling. "You always travel. New things and new places, and new adventures. There's no room for…"

"Maybe it's time I stop that, then. I've been wandering around too much. Maybe it's time I stop and finally live." He smiled at her, coming another step. She didn't back away this time. Her barriers were shattering.

He wiped a tear from her cheek. "Don't do this, Rose. Don't sacrifice what you really want for other people's sake. You'll only end up like me."

He held her, and she sobbed on his shoulder. He buried his face in her hair. Everything was starting to repair itself.

"He was going to ask me…"

"I know." He said. Rose felt a cold wetness on her neck.

She pushed him back, gently, their arms still linked around him. The tears in his eyes were now trailing down his cheek. One lone tear. She wiped it away with her thumb.

"Don't cry. My Doctor," he smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"My Rose," he said. "I never told you."

"I know. I love you."

He rested his forehead against hers. "You shouldn't. I mean, really."

"Doctor," she started. "I love you. Any form of you. John Smith, Big Ears, or any of your other selves."

He smiled. He still didn't understand why. She had seen him for who he really was. All of him. Knew everything he had done. The journal showed her everything he had done in his past.

And she still loved him.

And that was why she was willing to leave, ready to make the final sacrifice for him. Never see him again to try to take the pain that would come with losing her.

"Rose."

She looked up at him, waiting. "Please stay with me. Forever."

She smiled, taking his hand. "Forever." "Rose Tyler. There were so many times I should have told you. Every day. I lost you twice and I'm not going to lose you a third time. I love you."

He pressed a kiss to her temple. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

She smiled cheekily. "I'm sorry? I didn't quite get that."

"I love you."

She smiled, and he smiled back. "I do, Rose Tyler. And I'll tell the whole universe. And even, God forbid Jackie."

"Oh my God. Slaps for the rest of your life."

He grinned.

"What's going to happen to us later?" she asked.

"Rose," he started, looking her straight in the eye. "I want to give you the life you always wanted. Family, a house—although this makes a good one—and everything else domestic and happy. My first incarnation. I died from old age. I can do it again if I wanted. And I…I'd stop. Stop regenerating at my tenth life. It's been done before."

"But I won't let you," she protested.

"I'd do it for you, Rose. I love you."

"I'm pregnant," she blurted.

* * *

A/N: I know. Sort of a cheesy ending of the chapter. One more chapter to go! The last one! Nooo!!!! 


	20. More Than A Feeling

**Partners in Time**

I love you guys! I've never even thought I would get so many reviews! You guys are the best. Last chapter…sigh I'm too sad to put anything else.

And to everyone that said that the last line was misplaced or whatever…it was my intention! I didn't want to ease into it because it was my intention to have it very abrupt.

Anyway. Enjoy.

And don't cry.

* * *

**Chapter 20: More Than A Feeling**

She didn't know why she said it; it just came out all of a sudden. She hadn't even realised she said it until she heard it with her own ears.

And, after realising what she said, she regretted ever saying anything at all.

Maybe it was the moment. She had been worrying that he would not want her and a baby on board. Perhaps by him opening up to her and telling how she felt, it just sort of slipped out. Too quickly. She didn't even have time to ease into it like she wanted.

All that planning and running hypothetical conversations in her head had flown out the window in an abrupt and misplaced outburst.

He froze in their embrace, tensing, his eyes going wide under his glasses, his mouth opening and closing, not unlike a fish.

She was beginning to worry.

"W-when?" he stuttered out, his voice at a falsetto.

Whether he meant when she found out or when it physically happened was beyond her, so she answered the easier one, perhaps the most obvious. "I…I think the last time we…danced. After I moved in with…" The Week of Bliss.

"Oh." It seemed to be the only thing coherent at this moment that he could say.

He looked up at her, and she felt sorry for him. She shouldn't have ever mentioned it. That was why she should have never agreed to stay.

"I'm…gonna be…a f-father?" he said, slowly, looking straight into her eyes with wonder. He seemed to be realizing it himself.

And then he broke into a wide grin, hugging her and lifting her off the ground as he swung her around, and all of her doubts vanished.

"I'm gonna be a father!" he exclaimed, holding her tightly.

He knelt down to her stomach, pressing a light kiss. "Hello in there," he greeted the unborn child. "I'm going to be your father. I'm pretty sure you've already met your mother."

She smiled. Definitely not the reaction she thought, in a good way. She had expected him to be angry, with which one she didn't know, himself or her, and promptly kick her off the TARDIS.

He stood back up to her height, holding her.

"Rose Tyler, Defender of the Universe and Mother of My Child."

Rose smiled, and he pressed a kiss to her lips. Light and so happy.

"When did you find out?" he asked her, seemingly unable to stop grinning like a mad man.

"On our trip back from Tecal," she told him, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"The TARDIS ride back?" he asked, curious. "So _that's_ where you and my other self went."

"I—what?"

"Well, after he and his Rose got his TARDIS hitched onto mine and came in, you went somewhere and after that he left, too. Just a pace or two behind you. I thought you noticed."

She shook her head. She had been so wrapped up in finding out if a small stick turning pink was the source of her unusual sickness and lateness. She hadn't known that Nine had followed her, probably to comfort her until he saw the size of the problem.

A slow grin spread on her face. That's why he had come into her room and talked with her like that. He knew. And the dancing bit…yep, he knew.

"I'm just…wondering," she started. "What's it gonna be? Human or Time Lord?"

"Well…" he sucked the air through his teeth. "I'd know if it were under normal circumstances…if you and I had…danced when we were ourselves it'd be one-fourth Time Lord, all the rest human. But…hold on."

He started to take her hand, but stopped. He looked at her, a wide and cheeky grin slowly spreading across his face.

"I believe there is a tradition that needs to be upheld," he stated, solemn, though his face read anything but.

"Since when do you uphold tradition?"

"Hey, I do traditions!" he protested, holding his hands up defensively. "You should have seen this one time, I went to Klavox 6—which is a real planet, by the way—and they said that all visiting people had to walk around doing the crabwalk for the entire time…tradition. Ha! More like a prank. I later found out that the tradition was ruled silly about five-hundred years prior and—"

She cut off his talking by kissing him. It seemed to her the most useful way of shutting him up now.

He held her around her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

The kiss was sweet, filled with so much feeling: passion, happiness, joy, reconciliation, relief and most of all love.

They broke off the kiss, resting their foreheads on each others, smiling.

"Say it again," she grinned.

"I love you, Rose."

"You better," Rose muttered, grinning cheekily.

"Hold onto me," he instructed.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Hold onto me," he repeated, smiling.

She did her best, tightening her arms around his neck as he lifted her into his arms, walking.

"Where're we going?" she asked. Her only response was a smile.

"You'll see," he replied, after a few seconds, looking down at her.

She watched as they walked down a familiar hallway. It was relatively close, that way it was easy to access. The infirmary.

He laid her gently on a bed, getting out the sonic screwdriver and turning on a few complicated-looking machines.

"Now…I haven't used these in ages, so it's not exactly the latest…" he trailed off, looking at her. "Right, well, for _me_ it's not the latest. I think the last time I used this was when one of my male companions got pregnant from visiting the Khaled people. Mind you, it wasn't his fault. The stuff they offered smelled, looked and tasted like tea, but it was anything but. Anyway…"

She smiled. Funny, why were all the really juicy ones not talked about as much? she wondered.

"Okay," he approached her, looking unlike any doctor she had ever seen. Yet he still had a sense of brilliance and professionalism behind that hyper, childlike exterior. "First thing. Rose, are you sure you want to go through with this? I mean, this is a very giant step and I could just wave the sonic screwdriver and—"

"No!" she shouted. "I want this. Please don't ask that."

"Okay. Just checking," he looked happy and hurt at the same time. Hurt to be shouted at, most likely. Happy of her decision. "Now, just a few questions before we start. Have you had any colour changes on your skin? Unusual and very sudden pigmentation on any place other than your hair?"

She shot a glare at his cheeky professionalism. "No."

"Any weird growths like extra fingers or maybe another toe? Maybe another foot even?"

"Doctor!"

"I need to know all the possibilities," he defended.

"No, then."

"Mood swings?—no, wait no, that's right, women—_exceptional _mood swings?"

She only glared at him, giving him a look that resembled Jackie's.

"Okay, I'll take that as a yes. Have you had the urge to go skydiving by any chance?"

"Skydiving?" she had a feeling that these questions were not having anything to do with anything.

"I need to know all the possi—"

"No," she sighed.

"Spontaneous exceptional brilliance? Been feeling the need to do Calculus all of a sudden?"

She only could give him a blank look. _What_ was he talking about? Was this common in Time Lord pregnancies?

"Right, of course not, it is…" his voice trailed off at her look. "Anyway. Okay. Now to see it, and see what it's going to be."

"Hold on…don't you have to wait a few more months for that kind of thing?" she asked.

"Oh, you humans…well, maybe in your time. Remember, Rose, I'm not from your time."

"Just…get this thing going," she grumbled.

He smiled, looking up at her. Neither could believe what was happening.

He flicked on a black computer-looking machine, before coming over to her, sonic screwdriver in hand.

He lifted the sonic screwdriver to her stomach, and immediately she panicked. She raised her arms and gasped in protest, eliciting a smile from him.

"Relax. It won't hurt either of you. It's…basically the equivalent of an ultrasound. Except without the gooey stuff."

He buzzed the sonic screwdriver at her stomach for a few seconds, then walked to the black computer machine. He buzzed the sonic screwdriver at the computer machine, and Rose had a feeling that he was transferring the data…where had that come from?

"Let's see…well, the DNA seems like it's mostly human…one heart, two arms, two legs, two eyes…but…oh. Wow."

"What? Is it bad?" she asked, looking as he peered at the screen.

He turned back at her and grinned. "According to the DNA scan it's eighty-percent human. Twenty percent Time Lord."

"And…oh, wow."

"What is it?" she asked. He turned the monitor toward her.

Most of the screen was a moving and live screen. A small table on the left was filled with symbols and text that she couldn't read. Numbers.

She had seen enough of ultrasounds when her mum was pregnant with Jake to know what it was. And when something was different.

"What is it?" she repeated.

The small embryo was twisting and turning this and that, very weird looking. She was afraid that it was a defect, that maybe the fight with Shireen had damaged her more than she had thought.

But he grinned at her, and she knew it was all right.

"_That_," he started. "Is the sign that he or she is going to be a healthy baby and live a very long time. Regeneration."

He grinned at her again.

"He or she? I thought by the future they'd be able to tell."

"Well, we won't get into the whole genetic process, but apparently every baby starts out as a boy. Then, after a few months of development it…well, let's just say it decides."

"I saw the House episode," she remarked. The one with the model.

"Hugh Lorrie, wasn't it? Great fellow. Very funny. Learned to do his American accent from me."

"What? No, I don't believe it," she retorted.

"Oh, yes. Actually, I met him when he was about twenty. Very nice. Had a run in with a troupe of Runners. Very fast creatures as you could tell by their name. Sort of like the Flash. He turned out to be very useful, he did. Unlike that other Hugh. Hugh Jackman. Such the flirt, all the time. And Wolverine? Nothing like him."

She smiled, looking at him.

He stopped, coming toward her, holding her.

He kissed her, soundly, and properly. It started out sweet, happy, but the two got wrapped up in the moment. It quickly turned more heated as they clung onto each other, so happy to finally express their feelings.

He rested his head on her left shoulder, holding her around the waist as he sat next to her on the bed.

She played with his hair with left hand, resting her head on his.

"I love you," he said, making her smile.

"I love you," she told him back.

They sat in a very happy and comfortable silence as they held each other.

"You know," Rose started, her voice low. "Martha and Jack are still at the house."

"Yeah," he replied, knowing full well she was not asking to pick them back up. Not yet. "I figure they'll be there a while. Especially if Mickey the Idiot's there. I've noticed him and Martha have been spending far too much time together for my liking."

"You remember on Tecal when Mickey and Shireen started going out?" she was referring to how there were similarities between the creators and the 'simulated' people.

"Yeah, I know," he replied. "Tell you what, though, we're not doing any more double dating."

"It wasn't that bad!" Rose protested.

"All Mickey and Shireen were doing were snogging! In the restaurant!"

"Well, then, we should've showed them that they're no match against us!" Rose grinned.

He lifted his head, kissing her, so passionately and long, leaving her breathless. _Yep, _Rose thought. _We would've given Mickey and Shireen a run for their money._

"You know," she started. "I don't think we've…celebrated properly."

He grinned against her, cheeky. "You know, I think you're right. Why don't we…celebrate?"

He got up, holding his hand out to her, looking like such the gentleman.

"Dame Rose Tyler, may I have this dance?"

She took his hand, gladly, hopping off the infirmary bed. "Yes you may, Sir Doctor."

He grinned, kissing her. "Good."

He started heading out the door, toward his room.

She knew that everything that would happen later on would be dealt with then. Right now and right here was the only thing that mattered. There would be no sadness, no regret, or pain later. Only life, lived at its fullest.

"Oh, and Rose?" he called from the hallway as she made her way to the doorway, taking one more look at the screen.

"Yes?" she called back, turning toward the door.

She saw him pop his head through the doorway, wearing his glasses. And looking cheeky.

"You up for a little role-playing?"

* * *

A/N: There ya go. I love you guys. You guys have been great. And keep checking back. You never know…

I'm not sure what the prequel's going to be called. But it's gonna be basically the same story that was mentioned in chapter 17. With other plot thingies of course. But the only thing is that it won't be updated as quickly as Partners has been. Wednesday is the first day of school and this year I've promised to do everything I can. No distractions. So maybe weekends and a few days.

Anyway. For those who have wondered what the song titles are (and artists) here's a list of chapters that were song titles that I used. Also for disclaimer purposes.

**Ch. 5** – I Can't Decide – Scissor Sisters

**Ch. 4** – You're My Best Friend – Queen

**Ch**. **5** – Every Time We Touch – Cascada

**Ch. 6** – How To Save a Life – The Fray

**Ch. 7 –**Dirty Little Secret – All-American Rejects

**Ch. 8 – **From Since U Been Gone – Kelly Clarkson

**Ch. 9 **– More Than Words – Extreme/remade by Frankie J

**Ch. 10** – D'Yer Mak'er – Led Zeppelin

**Ch. 11** – Kashmir – Led Zeppelin

**Ch. 12** - Emotional Rescue – Rolling Stones

**Ch. 15 – **It Ends Tonight** – **All-American Rejects

**Ch. 16/17** – Part of Your World – From _Little Mermaid_

**Ch. 18** – Once Upon a Dream – From _Sleeping Beauty_

**Ch. 19 **– Brown-Eyed Girl – Van Morrison/ remade by Everclear

**Ch. 20** – More Than A Feeling - Boston


	21. Epilogue

**Partners in Time**

I love you guys so much I decided to give you a bonus chapter! I hope you like it. It's a little Harry Potter, actually. (For those of you who have read it, you'll understand what I mean. For those of you who haven't read it yet—what's wrong with you? ((just kidding.)

Anyway. Enjoy.

* * *

**Epilogue**

A small section of London was busy, crowding with people shopping and talking, cars whizzing by.

All of the noise from the city drowned out the noise of old, ancient sounding engines as a machine, ancient and yet completely futuristic, appeared in an old alley.

A blue police box appeared out of nowhere, the light above it flashing as the transparent object solidified.

The engine stopped, after a few moments.

Voices were heard inside, muffled, though one was arguing with the other, though not a heated or angry argument.

The door opened, squeaking as a man stepped from it. His hair was big, though his sideburns were now a small stalk of grey on both sides.

He wore a suit, tie, and a pinstriped tan coat, converse trainers on his feet.

He stepped out, revealing a much larger interior. He carried a small bag, the bag's designs intricately designed and detailed. As he walked outside, down the alley a few paces, he turned back to the blue police box, shouting to the open door.

"Come on!" he called. "You look fine! Just…the shoes don't matter…" he shouted.

A woman stepped out, her once blond hair now its natural light brown, wearing a long white skirt and a red top, her heels clicking as she stepped into the street.

The man looked down at her feet incredulously, taking the lacy high heels on her feet, a strap coming just above her ankle, the toe open, revealing her nicely manicured toenails. The heels was about three inches high.

"Are you kidding?" the man said, looking at the shoe. "The heel's gotta be about a foot tall! Rose, you're gonna kill yourself to be running in those!"

"You agreed there wouldn't be any running today," Rose said, admiring her shoe and wiggling her toes. "Besides, I like them."

"I only agreed that there wouldn't be any running if I can help it," replied the man, taking her hand and keeping up the mock-fight. "I mean, who knows when a Slitheen might crash through London!"

"Twenty-two years ago," Rose retorted, cheekily grinning.

"And you know, we shouldn't even be doing it this way," the man protested. "I mean, we should be out _there_ celebrating birthdays and Christmases and—"

"Doctor," Rose interjected as they turned a corner. "I think you seem to be forgetting your role as the over-protective father."

"Oh, right," he mumbled. "Hey, wait a minute! I'm not _that_ bad, am I?"

"Well, let's see, first there was science fair—"

"It's not my fault that Time Lords pass on their knowledge of the universe to their children—"

"Then there was Torchwood—"

"—With Jack—"

"Who is a dear friend of ours, remember," Rose ticked off the list on her fingers, as they neared the residential areas. "And then there was that spring break with my brother—"

"I didn't know that he was going to bring them to the beach! I'm telling you, all those little parties I had no idea!"

"Well," Rose started, whispering as they approached the doorway of a large house. She rang the doorbell. "Just play nice with mum and _leave him alone._"

"But—"

"Doctor." She glanced at him, telling him to obey her…or else. "I mean it."

She gave him a quick kiss as the door opened. A woman with long blond hair of about sixty greeted them, hugging Rose.

"Hi, Mum," Rose greeted.

"Hello, sweetheart," Jackie welcomed, planting a kiss on Rose's cheek.

"Hello, Jackie," the Doctor greeted, grumbling.

"Oh, you, come here," she hugged him, picking him up and swinging him around like almost always. She let him go, making her way into the large living room.

There were decorations and streamers everywhere.

"Make yourselves right at home," Jackie told them, sitting them on the couch.

A guy of about twenty stumbled in, his hair spiky and brown, gelled up, his brown eyes scanning the room in horror at the decorations.

"Hiya, Rosie," he greeted her.

"Hey, Jake," Rose greeted him back as her brother walked over to them and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, Doc."

He greeted the Doctor with a handshake-hug, sitting next to his sister.

"So, Jake," Rose started. "When are you gonna take a day off next and come with us?"

"Oh…I dunno," he shrugged. "I've been working a lot, and they do need me. Found this little box that needs opening…mind you, I am smarter than Pandora."

"Pandora?" the Doctor chuckled at the joke. "I doubt it's really gonna spread pestilence within the world."

"Well, if it does I'll give you a ring," Jake retorted, playfully. "So, when's our guest of honour going to grace us with their presence?"

"Dunno," Rose said. "Mum didn't say. Is Dad here?"

"He's coming in a second," Jackie answered, before Jake could reply. "How'd you like the decorations? I'm telling you, they did a wonderful job."

"Yeah, sure," Jake replied, sarcastically. He leaned over to Rose. "I think I've seen Roganarks with better taste than this," he muttered in her ear.

"Jacob Caleb Tyler!" Jackie scolded. "I heard that!".

The doorbell rang before she could say anything else. She walked over to the front door, disappearing for a few moments.

"So, who's all coming?" Rose asked Jake.

"Well, the Smiths said they'd come. Then Lana—her parents are in America, and—" he stopped, motioning to the man at the door.

"Captain Jack Harkness!" the Doctor exclaimed, hugging the man who had just walked in the room.

"Oh, Doctor! Look at you! I see a salt and pepper thing going on there," he teased, indicating his greying hair. "And…is that…Rose Tyler behind all that brown?"

"I stopped dying it. Figure I've got nothing to lose," she said, as she hugged him.

Jack looked the same as ever. Nothing ever really aged him. Every time Rose and the Doctor would visit, he would always poke fun of their aging. And it all started when the Doctor found a strand of grey hair one day…

"And Jake! Got a hair cut!" he said, hugging the kid. Jake worked with Jack at Torchwood since he was about sixteen, about four years ago. He and Jack had always been close, Jack almost like a second father, since Jack had been showing up a lot at the house.

"So who's on duty, then?" Jake asked him as Jack sat on a recliner chair.

"Well, I told Amy to cover—" that was Gwen's daughter, "—and Toby's there, too in case anything happens. Everybody else is on standby—hey, look who decided to show up!"

Their attention turned to three people standing in the doorway. One a tall, older man, in about his mid-forties, older than Rose by a few years with dark skin and a smile. His wife, around the same age as he was, looking around at the familiar people with beautiful dark skin, scanning the room, looking at the decorations. And a kid of about twenty, maybe a year or so younger than Jake, obviously their son.

"Hey, you guys," Rose greeted, hugging Mickey. "I'm so glad you guys could come."

"Tell you the truth, I got a call a few hours ago," his wife was explaining as she hugged Rose next. "Almost didn't make it, but he's all right now. Car accident."

"Oh," Rose said, sympathetic. "I'm glad you made it, though."

"Hello, Dr. Smith," the Doctor greeted her, hugging his old friend.

"Hello, Doctor Smith," replied Martha, their little tradition.

"Hi, Aunt Rose," the twenty-year-old greeted her, hugging her and kissing her on the cheek.

"Hi, Ricky," she greeted him back.

He walked up to the Doctor, sticking out his hand. As always, the tension between them cut through the atmosphere.

"Richard," the Doctor said formally.

"Doctor," Rick repeated in the same tone.

After which Rick and Jake sat together, talking excitedly about technology, comparing their adventures at their different Torchwood sections.

Rose sighed, rolling her eyes. The Doctor and Rick reminded her a lot of the Doctor and Mickey's behaviour toward each other years ago. That was until they 'bonded' by Mickey ultimately saving the Doctor's life ten years ago. Big time.

The doorbell rang again, the living room full of people talking amongst themselves. A girl walked in, about twenty or so, with chestnut brown hair and gorgeous green eyes.

"Hi, everyone!" she greeted, smiling cheerily. She hugged Jackie, Rose, the Doctor, Mickey, Martha, and Rick, but gave Jake a sound kiss. "Hello, wonderful fiancé."

"Mom and Dad send their love from New York," Lana told them, looking out the window.

When Mickey Smith the blonde started living on Earth he decided to change his last name to Johnson to avoid confusion. About a year after he married Ronnie, who was completely different than she had acted on Tecal, and shortly after Lana Johnson was born. As she had told Rose, Ronnie's behaviour on Tecal was all just an act to do what was necessary.

Rose and Ronnie were good friends, went shopping, got manicures together, and once in a while went on trips in the TARDIS.

"So, where's the guest of honour?" Rick asked.

"You know, that's the same thing I said?" Jake told him.

"Always late as usual," the Doctor whispered to Rose. "Just like someone I know."

"You know…there! I see the car!" Rose shouted, and everyone promptly hushed.

The doorbell rang, innocently and unknowingly and Jackie went to greet the guest.

"SURP—" started everybody, but it was not the guest. Rather an older man, with once auburn hair, carrying a large cardboard box with both hands.

"Dad!" Jake shouted. "Come on! We thought you were—"

"Shh! I see another car!" Martha shouted, and again everybody quieted.

This time, the door didn't ring. The door unlocked all by itself, the key twisting and turning. The knob soundly turned, the door opening.

"Hi, Grandmum and Granddad I'm—" the voice cut off as the light in the living room switched on.

"SURPRISE!" shouted the group, grinning at the blonde.

The nineteen-year old girl grinned, taking in the decorations and everybody.

She rushed toward Rose, hugging her. "Mom! Dad! Oh, my gosh! I had no idea you guys were here!"

She hugged the Doctor as well, kissing them both on the cheek.

"Hey, Pandora," the Doctor hugged his daughter, kissing her on the cheek as well. "Happy nineteenth."

"Oh, thank you guys so much!" Pandora hugged them again, moving toward Jackie and Pete, hugging them. "Oh, thank you guys! You didn't have to go through all this, you know!"

She walked around the room, giving out hugs and kisses to her family and friends. She kissed Jake on the cheek, much to his dislike. She always loved to rile him up. Her uncle, though more like a brother.

She walked over to Richard, her best friend and boyfriend of two years, kissing him on the mouth. When the Doctor saw this Rose saw the overbearing father-look in his eyes and swatted him on the chest, holding him back.

"Over-protective much?" she raised an eyebrow, grinning cheekily.

His shoulder sagged. "Tell me, what is it with you women and the Smiths? First it was you and Mickey, now it's Martha and Mickey and now Pandora and Ricky!"

"You know what Dora needs?" she prompted him.

"What?"

"A 900 year old alien to come and whisk her away," she grinned cheekily.

"Uh…no. No dating anyone until after she's married." he replied.

"You know, I thought you were always the lenient one," she remarked.

"I am!" his eyes got wide as Mickey's son and his daughter embraced, Rick holding Dora in his arms as she sat on his lap. "You know, there's nothing wrong with being a little over-protective…"

"Doctor!"

"Well, I'm just saying," he defended.

"Mum! Dad!" Pandora came over to them, Rick gripping her hand tightly. "I got some great news!"

"Oh, here we go." the Doctor started, groaning.

"Me and Ricky have decided to move in together!"

"Oh, Dora, that's—" Rose was cut off by a sound, something like an low airplane overhead. Only it wasn't an airplane.

Rather, a large spaceship, crashing a few miles away.

Rose, The Doctor, Mickey, Martha, Jack, Pete, Pandora, Jake, and Rick all looked at one another.

"We're never gonna get a break, are we?" Pandora mused.

"Apparently not," the Doctor replied, grinning.

The nine exited the flat, lining up on the sidewalk.

"Everybody armed?" The Doctor asked.

One by one everybody pulled out cell-phones.

"Check," they all said.

The Doctor grinned. "Then, let's go!"

And they headed out into the unknown, two great generations and great teams, always ready for anything that came their way.

THE END

* * *

A/N: That's it, folks! I hope you liked it! Stay tuned for the prequel! I loved all your reviews! You guys are so awesome!

Everybody take a poll:

Would the prequel title be better as

A. The Best I Ever Had

B. On The Edge

C. Taking Over Me

D. Wake Up To Reality

It'll be any one of these. I dunno. I usually have good titles for stories, I'm just caught between them all.


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